It is Wednesday and that does mean, as is the old tradition, Google are doing their typical update various Google features and services. However, you would be forgiven for not really noticing today, as the updates have been few and far between so far. This is not that surprising though, as Google did make a number of their major announcements back at I/O at the end of last month. Either way, there are some updates coming through. The first landed a few hours ago when Google announced an update to Gmail which saw improved security being introduced for those who use Microsoft and Yahoo accounts through Gmail. Following on from this, the next announcement coming through, is an update which is arriving for Slides and this is one that many frequent Slides users will be happy to finally see landing.
Slides is a great tool for those who often use presentations for work. However, one of the major flaws with Slides was its inability to make use of Google’s Cast technology. Being a presentation aid, one would assume that Slides would be an ideal candidate to best utilize the casting ability of Casting. However and for whatever reason, that particular feature has long been absent from Google’s Slides. Well, not anymore.
An update now available for Slides, sees the app receive support for Cast. As such, the Slides app can now support casting to any Cast enabled device. This means as well as the Chromecast, you can also cast your presentations to the Nexus Player and the likes. Once you install the update, it will not be immediately clear that the cast function is available, as the cast icon does not show up when first launching the app. However, once you open a presentation (or start a new one) you will see the prompt page (shown above) advising of the option to use the cast function. Then, once the cast icon is clicked, the compatible devices will be shown in a new window, as you can see in the image below. As always, the update will be rolling out to Slides apps over the coming days and hours. However, if you would like to get used to the feature as soon as possible, then you can download the APK by clicking on the link below.
