iPhone Users Get a Remote for Chromecast/Android TV Again
Alison Anderson
23 Feb 2022
oogle’s Android TV app disappeared from App Store last year, but some of its features are available again. The Google Home app for iOS inherited one thing that was crucial for many users: with it, your iPhone can be used as a remote for Chromecast or Android TV if connected.
For the remote to appear in the app, you need to update your copy to version 2.48. After the update, you will find the remote when you tap on the device you want to control it with. It can be a Chromecast stick or an Android TV; if there are multiple devices, you can choose between them. On tapping the device, then tap “Open the Remote” and probably wait a moment to connect.
The remote looks similar to the physical remote that comes with Chromecast. There is a touchpad, a D-pad, and a large keyboard area that makes entering passwords much easier than it would be with a physical one. If you use your Chromecast or Android TV as a smart one, with various apps that require entering texts, this feature will be just what you lacked. The experience is nearly as decent as that with the native remote for Apple TV consoles on iPhone.
The feature used to appear in the Android TV app, and it was logical. Now that the app is gone, its key features are still present. By the way, it works well on iPad too, though Google only has informed about it coming on iPhones. Probably Google just didn’t consider it necessary to mention iPadOS, because there is no real difference between how it functions on iPhones and iPads.
Do you have a Chromecast or an Android TV and an iPhone? Would it be useful for you to have an extra remote for it? Maybe this is even more convenient than the original physical remote? Tell us in the comments how was your experience. Or a story about how you lost or broke your remote, and the one on your phone saved your day: this counts too.