Using Google Podcast app

Hello @Jamesmorris1099, welcome to the Sonos Community!

Sonos does not support Google Chromecast at this point. I’ve marked this thread as a feature request and forwarded it to the appropriate teams for consideration.

The available workarounds would be

• Using Bluetooth on Sonos
• Using Line-In on Sonos

I hope this helps.

Chromecast - the feature in apps- appears to be supported by some apps unless those apps switch to some other API when you use that feature. 

I do not own a physical Chromecast piece of hardware and am not asking about that.  Hope that helps clear up any potential confusion.

Hey @Jamesmorris1099,

Thank you for the clarification, though same answer applies.

Do not worry about confusion, as the entire thread is being shared.

It sounds like the feature in other apps you’re referring to is casting.  This has become fairly common in music based apps and doesn’t require a chromecast license. 

I could buy a bluetooth or wifi dongle or pre-amp for about 50-100 USD.  I could also replace the Sonos equipment I have for around 200 - 500 USD to get these capabilities from multiple reputable companies.  However, that feels stupid.  I paid for a system and components that should be able to play my music and other audio.   

Sonos doesn’t support chromecast.  Never has.  Likewise, Google wants to use their own licensed cased tech rather than the standard casting that other apps are using.  I get why you would assume that things would just work, that there would be just one standard that everyone uses without any licensing fees and things like that, but that simply is not the case.  You can blame Google for that if you want. You can blame Sonos for not paying the fees. You can blame yourself for not checking and understanding the feature requirements.   You can blame everyone else for not complaining enough to force Google or Sonos to make a change.    

FYI, a Sonos Roam is already under $200 USD and will allow you to connect via bluetooth and share the audio with the rest of your Sonos system.  I would be surprised if you have to spend $50 for a bluetooth dongle.  Not sure what a WiFi dongle would do for you, unless you’re talking about a chromecast device.

I blame Sonos for this stupidity.  The feeling on my end is that Sonos was deceptive.

When I bought my speakers and amp that says it connected to audio sources via bluetooth or wifi I don’t expect to need to do any additional research on features, licensing or disputes between Sonos and other companies.  

Your profile just says you have an amp, which is not advertised to have bluetooth.  Sonos lists the music services you can stream directly.  Sonos is far from the only company that doesn’t support bluetooth and/or chromecast on every product.

Well, like all of us you need to understand what it is you’re buying. I’ve yet to meet a company who emblazons their product literature with all the features it doesn’t support.

WiFi is ‘just’ a fundamental networking technology, like Ethernet. It’s what runs over the top and whether the appropriate APIs exist which dictates whether Sonos can receive a cast stream. 

• Sonos supports selected casting protocols, such as AlexaCast from the Amazon Music native app and Spotify Connect from the Spotify app.
• Sonos supports DLNA/UPnP to a limited degree, which is probably how VLC was able to stream to it. Some Android apps can also share to BubbleUPnP which is able to stream to Sonos players as renderers.
• Sonos supports AirPlay from Apple devices.
• Sonos does not support Chromecast. However Sonos supports Bluetooth in some speakers, as indicated on the product pages.

That is fine and all.  But I expect stuff to work with major software companies such as Google - especially when there is comparable support for Amazon and Apple. 

My profile is not up to date because I haven’t bothered to keep it up to date.  My comments demonstrate the current status of what is going on with my system, complaints, answers etc.

I wonder if any of the various lawsuits Sonos has had to file against Google for infringing on Sonos patents has anything to do with the reticence of Google to ‘play nice’?

I don’t expect anything. I read product specifications, particularly for expensive purchases. Caveat emptor.

From my understanding it is Sonos that needs to do the work to be compatible with Google.  From support calls I have had with both Google and Sonos it seems like Sonos has been stubborn and not done or implemented the work needed to play nice with Google.  

It just makes Sonos users like me have a bad experience.

The point is that you talked about expecting that your speakers/amps would have bluetooth, but yet they were not advertised as having bluetooth.  As already mentioned, the idea that a product should just have the features you assume it has, no reseach required.

As an example, Amazon just released a ‘Fire TV Soundbar’.  What features would you think it has?  It doesn’t have fire TV built in, no Alexa voice assistant, it can’t play in sync with echo speakers.  It does not have chromecast or airplay capabilities.  It cannot stream any audio on it’s own, just bluetooth or HDMI ARC/eARC input.  Does that fit the features you would have guessed?

This is fine.  But it does not change the fact that Sonos could easily accept casting from Google Podcast app (and many other Google apps) on android devices by implementing known technology that dozens of other audio app makers already use.

Which Sonos would need to get legal permission from Google to implement,

Sonos did that for Apple, Amazon and some other companies.

Yes, and I’d be willing to bet that Sonos sent a similar request to Google…and frankly, likely all the streaming companies they have extended authorization to use the Sonos service to, on the offhand chance any of them were working on a similar ‘casting’ system. But then again, that would just be intelligent business acumen on the part of Sonos, since I don’t work there, I don’t know if this was the case. I assume it was, merely as Sonos is a company that wants to stay in business selling hardware, and for them not to do so would be odd, at best.