Sonos adds Google Play Music, with Chromecast-style control on Android
Google Play Music is the first app in the US to get casting abilities on Sonos, which represents a significant change for the wireless audio system.
Sonos supports far more music services than any other wireless audio system and its lead continues to grow.
Today, Sonos added the Google Play Music service to its roster of streaming audio services, bringing the company's total of supported apps to 32 in the US and 48 worldwide. Even more interesting is that the Google Play Music app will support Chromecast-style casting on Android. That means you'll be able to use the native Google Play Music app, hit the "cast" icon, and send music to any of the Sonos speakers in your home.
Sonos has been talking about adding casting functionality since last year and it represents a significant shift for the platform, which previously required you to use the Sonos app for all music playback. Sonos recently announced an overhauled user interface for its app on iOS and Android, which is a big improvement over the old look, but there are still cases where it's preferable to use a native app .
As far as adding casting to iOS and other apps, a Sonos representative told CNET the company is "looking to bring similar functionalities to other services on [its] platform across all iOS and Android devices," although there's no timeline for any future updates.
Google Play Music's integration with Sonos is available in 25 countries, including the US, UK and Australia.