Google just announced two new versions of its popular streaming stick, Chromecast, but it also showed off a few impressive new features coming to the Chromecast app. And the biggest by far is universal voice search.
When the update rolls out to Android and iOS devices, you'll no longer have to go hunting through all your other apps to find the things you want to watch. Instead of digging through the Netflix, Google Play, or Hulu apps to see who has the newest episode of, say, Rick & Morty, you can just open the Chromecast app and speak (or type) your search there. The app will tell you which services have the show you're looking for, and will even direct you to apps that you don't have if the show or movie can be found there.
Google is also adding new playback features into the Chromecast app — another clear attempt to get you to use the Chromecast app every time you sit down to watch something on your television. The addition of playback controls and universal search are welcome changes, though, especially considering how useless the Chromecast app was before this impending update.
No more hopping around apps to find your shows
There are lots of other new things going on with Chromecast, like Netflix Fast Play caching, Spotify support and an entirely new device dedicated to audio streaming. With Apple recently announcing a new Apple TV and Sonos announcing the new Play:5, the war for your living room is just heating up.
