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.
