- With the release of Android 15 Beta 2, Pixel phones can once again control the volume of Google Home speaker groups while casting.
- Google intentionally disabled this functionality on Pixel phones back in late 2021 due to a legal dispute with Sonos.
- In late 2023, Google announced it would bring back several features they had to remove, following a judge’s overturning of a jury verdict that was in favor of Sonos.
Last week, Google announced the second beta of Android 15, bringing long-awaited features like Private Space, App Pairs, Predictive Back, and more. The second beta also quietly introduced a revamped volume panel UI, but we weren’t too surprised by this since we already knew it was coming. However, the second beta surprisingly brought back a volume-related feature we weren’t sure was ever going to return to Pixel phones: the ability to control the volume of speaker groups while casting!
When you create a speaker group consisting of one or more Assistant-enabled devices in the Google Home app, you’re able to cast audio to that group from your phone using a Cast-enabled app. For example, let’s say I make a speaker group named “Nest Hubs” that consists of my bedroom Nest Hub and my living room Nest Hub. If I open the YouTube Music app, start playing a song, and then tap the cast icon, I can select “Nest Hubs” to start playback on both my Nest Hubs simultaneously.