Add Chromecast built-in Integration

Hi. An understandable request, and well expressed, but the request has been made many times on here and Sonos haven't done this yet.

What do you want to do that you currently cannot do without Chromecast?

Things like, smart home control. In fact with Chromecast compatible devices when a device is casting content on all Android devices connect to the home wifi appear a notification for control the media of that device and also this is possible in the Google Home app.

Another thing is cast audio from Google Chrome browser, Google TV, Android device audio ecc…

And at the end the aggregation of speakers and TV that have Chromecast built-in, for have the same media in more rooms.

Some apps, in particular local app with a small percentage of users in the world, that support Google Cast but obviously doesn't support the Sonos Ecosystem. For do an example, the Gym app support Chromecast speakers for remote training, and if you have an iPhone obviously also Airplay, but for an Android user is impossible to connect that app to a Sonos speaker without Bluetooth.

Other features are a copy of functionality that can you can also do with the Sonos app, but some of these feature also can be more easy to reach with Chromecast built-in, in particular for an Android user like me. In fact Chromecast built-in for an Android user can be easy to use like Airplay for an Apple user. Also Chromecast built-in can be use from Apple devices, instead Airplay only from Apple devices, so it can be a good things for the two ecosystem, Google and Apple.

I have an OLD audio Chromecast - its the only way to really have Sonos work with google. I use a Optical connection to my sound bar, or a 3.5mm to a play five. Really there are not enough inputs either.  The Sonos app does not allow the same user experience as directly using an app like YouTube music -   just being able to cast directly to a Sonos speaker would be nice - and we used to be able to do that. Then Sonos changed - I don’t trust that new products won’t become “bricks” like the old products did. Shame on you Sonos. Go with Bose - Yes - some argue that there is minor differences in sound quality but what's the point of sound quality if you can't get your services, or devices to work with the speakers you own. Anyone want to buy some old Sonos products? I didn’t think so.  

Bose?  The company that discontinued their entire line of smart speakers, then brought out a new line which is completely incompatible with the previous lineup which they were selling right up to the day they discontinued it?  That's the company you wish to choose because Sonos stopped full updates to units that were over a decade old and hadn't been sold in 5 years?  Units which are not "bricks" at all, in fact they continue to work exactly as they did the day Sonos stopped full updates.

Don't go with Bose or Sonos. Just get Google cast supported speakers. Until Sonos adds the ability to cast my Sonos is an annoying box that takes up shelf space while the much worse sounding Google home speaker sits literally on top of it gets used daily because it's easy to just start playing music to it half way through a song.

I have dissuaded 25+ people from buying Sonos because it does not play nice with their existing Google speakers. 

Every time I want to use Sonos it's open a different app and try to use it's different UI and that's it everything works. Today It signed me out of YouTube music and just gives me a 400 error. 

Great sound. Terrible software. Expensive POS

This is the most glaring omission from Sonos, I have mentioned it before here that Android users are basically second class citizens for them, but many diehard fans here will always find ways to explain why it's not important.

For what is worth, Bose is updating their Soundbars to support Chromecast protocol and Bose is in fact quite comparable in sound quality, so maybe it's time for us, Android users, to seriously considering switching.

Never felt like a second class citizen using my android.  Admittedly, that could be because I’m not a huge fan of Google.  I have their phone product, yes, and I do use youtube TV and and an Nvidia Shield, but I generally avoid Google whenever possible.  I avoid Apple as well, which is the main reason I’m using an android.

Anyway, the point being that it could very well be a matter of perspective more so than functionality.  I started off creating my whole home system with Sonos.  I didn’t buy Google (or  Amazon, Apple) speakers and then later try to integrate Sonos into those systems.  I think of the Sonos speakers more as speakers that I can control with my phone, not as casting destinations to send audio from my phone.

I’ve never needed to use chromecast (or Airplay if I had iPhone) as a means of integrating two different audio systems.  I’ve never need it for smart home control or automation.  I’ve occasionally using casting from Amazon music or Pandora to transfer what I was playing on my phone to Sonos, or just to use the native music app search functionality.  I’ve occasionally started a youtube video and casted it over to Shield (is that chromecast?)

Maybe I’m missing some amazing chromecast feature that I’m unaware of, but it’s never been something I’ve ever felt was missing.  As I said though, I can see it where it would be more useful  for someone already heavily invested in a Google ecosystem.

Soundbars seem like they would need chromecast the least.  I mean, you can cast audio and video to the streaming box and TV, rather than just audio to the soundbar.  Is the problem that you’ll have to turn on the TV when you’re only trying to cast audio?

When will people get that they have bought into the Google ecosystem?   If they now want Sonos they either have to switch ecosystems or live with the consequences of the bad decision to buy Google speakers in the first place.

I think a lot of people don’t really think of Sonos as an ecosystem, just speakers.  And since of other ‘just speakers’ have chromecast, they see it as a fault of Sonos.  Along the same lines, they see Sonos having bought into the Apple ecosystem with the inclusion of Airplay.  Therefore, Sonos favors Apple over Google.

However, I think it looks a little different when you factor in that Sonos has been around before Apple or Google had their music systems.  Sonos predates the iphone actually.  You can also look at Amazon music system, and Sonos speakers don’t play in sync with Amazon speakers either (also commonly blamed on Sonos).  So it’s not that Google is the exception that Sonos doesn’t play in sync with It’s that Apple is the exception that Sonos does play in sync with.

And why would that be?  It could be that Apple needed other speaker brands to play into their system way more than Google or Amazon did, since they really didn’t have an established presence with their own speakers. That could mean cheaper licensing, or making the tech easier to development and maintain...I have no idea.  Or that Apple didn’t really mind Sonos have their own separate ecosystem, while Google and Amazon did.  I mean, Google won’t allow speakers to a have their voice assistant and someone else at the same time, but Amazon doesn’t care.

I get the sentiment though. It would be great place if all the different tech and companies worked with each other as seamlessly as possible, there were no walled gardens, and companies didn’t have to worry about things like licensing fees, market share, or making a profit.

It’s not just other speakers, though… Even my latest AV receiver comes with Chromecast and Bluetooth built in, as I’d expect any halfway decent piece of modern kit to have these days - and it cost considerably less than a Five.

Sonos are not just speakers, they’re expensive speakers and I suspect that some people feel that - for the amount of money that they cost - they should have flexible input methods built in.