Ever since the Google Chromecast was released a little under a year ago, it's had a relatively interesting life. On one hand, Google's diminutive $35 media streamer was always an excellent budget friendly media streamer for those happy living in the cloud. But up until very recently, the little streamer never offered too many content sources. This has began to change when Google opened up the device with the release of the Chromecast SDK. Now, the Chromecast gains an even more highly requested feature: Android screen mirroring.

You may recall that this upcoming feature was first mentioned during the Google I/O 2014 keynote. Now thanks to the latest 17250 firmware and an update to the Chromecast Android app (version 1.7.4, up from 1.5.5), the feature is here. To enable mirroring, simply open the slide-out "hamburger menu" in the Chromecast app, and click "Cast Screen." Alternatively, those running Nexus devices can access the feature through the Quick Settings menu.

Unfortunately, Chromecast mirroring doesn't support all devices just yet. First off, the feature only works on Android 4.4.1 or higher. In addition, only the following 14 devices are officially supported at this time:

  • Nexus 4
  • Nexus 5
  • Nexus 7 (2013)
  • Nexus 10
  • Samsung Galaxy S4
  • Samsung Galaxy S4 (Google Play Edition)
  • Samsung Galaxy S5
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 10
  • HTC One M7
  • HTC One M7 (Google Play Edition)
  • LG G3
  • LG G2
  • LG G Pro 2
  • Support for additional devices coming soon

The update hasn't gone live for everyone just yet. However, we've gone ahead and mirrored the APK for your early access pleasure.

With Android screen mirroring, the Chromecast has just become significantly more versatile. The coming of this highly requested feature is definitely better late than never. Do you see yourself using it? Let us know in the comments below!

[Source: Google Support | Via Google Chrome Blog]