A number of businesses now manufacture their ownstreaming devices, including Apple, Amazon, and Google. Whether you have a Fire Stick or a TV with Google Cast, you’ve likely already run into interoperability issues. Big Tech companies’ refusal to play nice with each other has made it harder for consumers to carry out tasks as simple as streaming. This is why partnerships are becoming more significant, and Amazon is announcing a new one that could be a game-changer for casting.
AtCES 2024in Las Vegas,Amazon announcedthat it is teaming up with Matter to provide Matter Casting support on the Fire TV and Echo Show 15 (viaEngadget). Whether you want to cast content from your Android or iOS device, it will now be as simple as opening your supported streaming app. The feature will be rolled out on Fire TV devices within the next few months, and Panasonic smart TVs that have Fire TV integrated into them will include it as well.
By the end of the year, Amazon hopes to have Matter Casting support available on Plex, Pluto TV, Sling TV, STARZ, and ZDF. Amazon notably doesn’t provide support for AirPlay, which would allow Apple device users to cast content. Unsurprisingly, it also doesn’t allow for any Chromecast options, given its competitive rivalry with Google. For the time being, Matter Casting might be the best option for those who are looking for a simpler way to cast content to their Amazon streaming device.
Google isn’t making significant moves to team up with competitors just yet. However, it seems to be open to more interoperability. For instance,the company recently announcedthat it will expand Chromecast integration to LG TVs in the near future. Additionally, TikTok users may soon have a reason to rejoice — Google intends to extend Chromecast support to the social networking platform by the end of the year. As for casting to actual Google devices, a company representative said at CES 2024 that it’s not coming just yet. This means that if you were hoping to cast content to a Nest Hub, for instance, you’ll still have to wait.
These recent moves suggest that Google is more interested in partnering with third parties than expanding features to some of its own devices. That being said, the company has kept these plans under wraps in the past, meaning we likely don’t know everything coming down the pipeline. For that reason, it isn’t foolish to continue holding out hope for more interoperability — especially if you intend to keep adding to your collection of streaming devices.
