Google's Files app now streams local media to your Chromecast

Google just made it decidedly easier to beam your personal media collection to your Chromecast device of choice. An updated version of the Files by Google app includes long-in-the-making support for playing your audio, photos and videos on any Chromecast-capable device, whether it's a speaker, smart display or TV. You only have to dive into a section containing media and choose a target. After that, you'll have on-screen playback controls to steer the action from your phone.

This should work with all the media you'd typically play on a Chromecast in the first place, and should be available right away if you have the latest version of Files. The technology behind the app isn't strictly new -- there have been local media casting apps for years, and that's not including individual media apps that can cast their own content. This gives you an official, straightforward option, though, and it could cover the bases in ways that some apps can't.