Google Podcasts received a fair amount of criticism at launch for a variety of valid reasons, but the biggest issues stemmed from a lack of support across Google's ecosystem. The app, somewhat absurdly, launched without proper Android Auto or Cast support — and offered little else to recommend it, including no option for creating podcast playlists. Now, after addressing the Android Auto issue, the app is beginning to roll out support for Cast.

The tip we received is from a reader in Brazil, and no one at Android Police has seen the feature pop up just yet, but it's likely coming soon to more users; it's been imminent since the beta of Google app version 8.9 came out (Google Podcasts can be downloaded as a standalone app, but is developed as part of the Google app). Android Police has reached out to Google for clarifications as to when exactly it'll be making the feature more broadly available.

The Cast button appears in the top right corner of the app, allowing users to Cast to supported devices in their home, like the Chromecast or Google Home. Previously, users could Cast by choosing the option through the notification shade, but it wasn't an intuitive or power efficient option.

Now that these basic features are finally gaining support on Google Podcasts, hopefully it'll be able to work on more advanced additions. At the very least, we know Google is working on a seemingly more innovative audio platform called Shortwave. Sometimes it seems like the one innovation Google can't quite manage, though, is making its products play well together.

Google Podcasts Developer: Google LLC
Price: Free
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Thanks: Jon