In the age of streaming services and cloud backups, it’s not all that often we have to play local files off of a device. However, Google is making that a lot easier with the latest update to its file manager app. Files by Google can now play your locally stored media on a Chromecast display.
Files by Google version 1.0.27 is available now on the Google Play Store and it finally delivers the long-awaited support for Chromecast to all users. Previously the feature was available for beta users.
The feature works with all types of media that you’d want to display on a Chromecast including videos, photos, and audio too. Notably, the only way to get the Chromecast icon to show up is to go into a section of the app that contains media. It won’t appear on the app’s main screen for instance.
Once content is playing you’ll get a full-screen interface showing what media is playing. In this interface – at least if you’re displaying pictures – a swipe from the left or right will change the image on-screen. In our brief testing of the feature, it seems to work pretty well although sometimes it rotates images or takes a moment to load. Notably, it even works on smart displays and Android TV devices too.
You should be able to use this functionality as soon as you update the app, but closing it and re-opening seems to trigger the feature if it doesn’t immediately appear.
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