Google adds 'send to TV' option to YouTube for iOS
Google brings a popular video-streaming feature Android has had for three months over to Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
Google today pushed out a new update to its YouTube app for iOS that lets users push videos to game consoles, certain TV sets, and other set-top boxes.
A new "send to TV" feature lets users pair the mobile app with a compatible set-top box or TV set. Those videos then show up on the TV, and the controls and other information are displayed on the mobile device as a remote of sorts.
Google introduced the feature for Android and its Google TV devices last November. iOS users with the YouTube app (iTunes), and other video applications have been able to push videos to the Apple TV through Apple's AirPlay technology since 2010.
Google says that more than a quarter of the video watching on YouTube comes from mobile devices. In the case of iOS, the jump to iOS 6 last September did away with Google's own YouTube app that came as part of Apple's system software. Google pushed out its own version, which added a handful of new features and included pre-roll advertising.
Along with the new push feature, Google says the update improves streaming on slow Wi-Fi connections, improves stability, and pushes users over to its Capture app if they want to upload.