This article was published on October 5, 2016

The Google Cast app is getting a new name and purpose


The Google Cast app is getting a new name and purpose

Fire up the Google Cast app – which is used to discover content to stream on Chromecast-connected TVs and speakers, and to manage them – and you’ll spot a message indicating that it’s getting a new name: Google Home.

The rebranding makes sense, as Google officially launched a new voice-activated speaker (also called Home – yup, it’s kinda messy) at its hardware launch event yesterday and will need an app to manage it.

google-home-info-screens

The device is designed to not only answer your questions and play music, but to also control your IoT gadgets and stream content to various devices around your house.

As Google grows its ecosystem of connected products, the need for a unified app to manage them becomes increasingly evident. In addition to the Home speaker, Google also launched a Wi-Fi router for creating mesh networks and the new 4K-capable Chromecast Ultra yesterday.

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The app notes that the icon and name change will take place in the next few weeks.

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