Google is moving its Cast media controls from the notification shade

Casting from your devices hasn’t been the most streamlined process over the years. We were all waiting for it to be as intuitive as listening to content natively on your Android device. Well, that day is finally approaching. According to a new report, Google is moving its cast media controls to the media player.

Before, when you were casting to a different device, you’d see the media controls as a notification. This means that they would take up space in the notification shade. It seemed weird that the company opted to do this. It’s always annoying having a persistent notification that you can’t swipe away.

Google is moving the Cast media controls

Fortunately, the company is moving to change this. The change is part of version 23.44.14  of Google Play Services. It’s currently rolling out, so you should keep an eye out for the update.

Rather than having your Cast media controls take up space in your notification shade, they’ll be a part of the media controls. This is the panel that sits above your notifications. You usually see current media playing from different apps like YouTube, Spotify, etc.

Well, when you’re casting, you’ll now see the media controls in your media panel. This will give you the ability to control your media just like any other media player. You can play, pause, stop, skip, and mute the music you’re listening to. If you tap on the panel itself, then you’ll be taken to the Now Playing section in the Google Home app.

There is still one issue with this change. In the panel, you’re not allowed to choose your output devices. The button on the top right of the panel is grayed out. We’re not sure if Google is disabling this permanently or if it’s going to come in the future. Hopefully, it does. Being able to change media devices on the fly is always handy.