Best Chromecast apps for iPhone and iPad

By Marc Lagace
last updated

If you've got — or are planning to get — a Google Chromecast or Chromecast Ultra then you may be wondering which iPhone and iPad apps will work with it. The answer is, a whole bunch. But these are our current favorites!

Google Home

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If you're brand new to the Chromecast experience, the Google Home app is probably the first app you should download.

On top of helping you get your Chromecast through the initial setup for your device, it's also the main hub for discovering other apps that support Chromecast, as well as recommending content from apps already on your iPhone. Oh, and if you happen to be interested in getting a Google Home for your domicile, you'll be able to set it up and control it as the name suggests.

Google Home is the best starting point for your Chromecast, but you'll probably outgrow it once you find other apps you love.

YouTube

An essential Chromecast app if there ever was one, YouTube provides one of the smoothest experiences for casting content to your TV.

You can set up a playlist for hours of entertainment or collaborate with friends at a party so everyone gets a say for which videos get played. With the sheer amount of music videos hosted on YouTube, you could use your YouTube app to stream all the music you need for a party or find the perfect chill mix for a night in.

Netflix

Another essential app, Chromecast lets you conveniently control Netflix from your iPhone.

It's a seamless experience, allowing you to start watching a TV show or movie on your iPhone – tap the Cast icon and it instantly starts playing on your Chromecast-connected TV.

Forget using your computer or gaming console for Netflix, once you start controlling things from your iPhone, you'll never turn back.

Twitch

Stream your favorite Twitch broadcasts straight to your TV with the Twitch app for iOS and Chromecast.

Simply cast your Twitch broadcast to your Chromecast and you'll be able to enjoy your favorite gaming streaming with a two-screen experience. Watch the action on your TV, and use your iPhone to engage with other viewers and your favorite streamers in the chat.

YouTube Gaming

If you or your kids are obsessed with YouTube gaming celebrities such as PewDiePie, JonTron, Markiplier, and gaming networks such as IGN and RoosterTeeth, then you'll want to check out the YouTube Gaming app.

It's a dedicated app for the abundant gaming content on YouTube, so it gets rid of all the other YouTube noise and gives you what you want. It will also pull any relevant subscriptions from your YouTube account, as well as recommend videos to you based on the games you love, which you can add to your collection in the app.

Streaming to the Chromecast is just as easy as using the YouTube app, so you can cast your favorite Let's Play videos to the TV and play along on your computer.

TED

Need something to play in the background? Why not get smarter by listening to a TED Talk via the TED app for iOS?

You'll get access to over 1000 TED Talk videos, covering a range of topics, which you can easily browse through. And casting to your Chromecast is as easy as tapping the Chromecast button and selecting the video you want to watch. Get smarter (or at least feel smarter) with the TED app for iOS and your Chromecast.

Pocket Casts

Pocket Casts is one of the best podcasting apps available for the iPhone and iPad. If you're serious about your podcasts and want to have them playing through your TV while you're doing chores around the house, simply figure out which episodes you want to listen to and cast them to your Chromecast.

Pocket Casts is the only iOS podcasting app that we found to support Chromecast. Since Pocket Casts also supports video podcasts, pairing it with Chromecast lets you cast your video podcasts to your TV for ultimate convenience.

Tricky Titans

Tricky Titans is a game for up to five players that's played on your TV with each player controlling their Titan on their phone (iPhone or Android).

Each round, each player inputs one of three actions — Attack, Defend, or Power up. But pick carefully, because you also have to be wary of whatever actions your opponents are deciding on. Once everyone's action is locked in, everyone watches the TV as the chaos ensues. If you're attacked, your Titan's hill drops. The winner is the last Titan standing or the highest standing Titan at the end of the game.

Free, fun, and featuring cool artwork, Tricky Titans is worth checking out.

Spotify Music

Control your music via your iPhone and stream it via your TV with the Spotify Music app for iOS and Chromecast. Spotify already provides one of the best mobile listening experiences for streaming music, and you'll get full access to your music library, playlists, and more on your iPhone while your music plays through your TV and/or home theatre sound system.

Big Web Quiz

Chromecast isn't just for video and music — it's great for gaming and fun too! Big Web Quiz is a fast and fun quiz game featuring cross-platform compatibility, meaning whether your friends have an iPhone or some Android device, everyone is able to download the app and connect to the Chromecast.

Connect up to six devices per game. Everyone watches the screen for the question, then uses their phone to answer. It's a fun, colorful app filled with interesting and quirky trivia.

Plex

Plex allows you to set up a wireless media server in your house for all of your TV shows, movies, music, and photos. The Plex app for iOS lets you control and cast all your media goodness straight to your Chromecast-connected TV.

But you'll need to have a Plex server (opens in new tab) set up before using the iOS app. Once you do, you'll be able to control all your media remotely from your iPhone and cast it to your Chromecast via the app.

Just Dance Now

Just Dance is the most popular dance video game to come around since Dance Dance Revolution, and it's available for free for iOS via Chromecast.

It's got more or less the same functionality you'd find on the console, except instead of using a console controllers to track your movement, the game has you hold your iPhone in your right hand. How accurate could the tracking be if it's only tracking one hand, you ask? Well, you better dance your heart out — we gave it a spin and it seemed to work just fine.

Play against friends in your living room, or online against players from around the world. You get a couple songs for free, and while you can dance to collect some coins to buy new songs, it'll take you a long time. Frankly, you'd be better off spending the $5.99 to get a 30-day VIP pass from the in-game store.

HBO Now

If you love HBO Now, you'll love it even more when it's streaming to your TV via Chromecast.

That's right, enjoy your Game of Thrones, Last Week Tonight and Silicon Valley at your leisure by streaming it to your phone and then casting it to your TV. Geez, it's like who really needs cable anymore, am I right?

AllCast

If you've just returned from vacation or got pictures and videos on your phone you want to show off, don't have everyone try and crowd around your small phone screen. Use AllCast.

AllCast lets you cast all the media on your phone to your TV via Chromecast. You'll also be able to stream content from your social media accounts such as Instagram and Google+, as well as cloud services such as Dropbox and Google Drive.

Cast-A-Draw

This is a modern take on Pictionary that lets you and your friends use a phone as the drawing pad, with the drawings popping up on the TV for all to see. Everyone gets a fun photo so you know who to pass the phone to when it's their turn.

It's a simple game, as anyone who has played pictionary knows, with options to set the number of words per round, as well as the time length of each round. It works great and is good fun for parties.

Videostream

Videostream is one of the best Chromecast apps for streaming content from your computer to your Chromecast-connected TV. The app for iPhone and iPad allows you to remotely control all your media from your phone.

Like Plex, this requires you to set things up between your computer and Chromecast as well, but unlike Plex, you don't need to set up any complicated media servers to get down to watching your favorite movies or TV shows. All you need is a computer — Mac or PC — with Chrome, install the Chromecast extension, then open a video file from your computer in the Videostream tab. Your video will play on your Chromecast-connected TV, and you'll be able to control playback via your phone. If you try out Videostream and love it, you can upgrade to Videostream Premium and enjoy the ability to create video playlists, then control everything from your phone as well.

Any other favorites that we missed?

There are over 100 different iPhone and iPad apps that support Chromecast, and we had to make some tough choices for some that didn't make our list. Make your case for the ones we overlooked in the comments below!

Marc Lagace
Marc Lagace

Pop culture geek, hopelessly addicted to streaming movies, tv shows, and podcasts. Would be lost in life without unlimited data.

7 Comments
  • Whoa! ClockworkMod makes iOS apps? Never woulda saw that coming — they make AllCast. Figured they were Android only. Their app is pretty good, at least on Android it was. Never thought to look it up on my iPhone. Jury's still out if iOS vs Android matters for casting to Chromecast, though in my limited experience, YouTube seems snappier. Netflix is about the same. Big Web Quiz is a lot of fun. Played on Android between two Android phones and an Android tablet. I wonder if an iPhone can get in the mix. I don't see why not though. I couldn't find Scrabble Blitz, published by EA, on the iTunes store. That's on Android for Chromecast, and it's a ton of fun. If you like word games... basically everyone gets the same 8 letters, and you have to pick out words that can be made from those letters. You can use words others have played, but the first person to play any word gets a bonus on it. I'm reigning champ on that one, and I can play on the Android tablet, but I'd love to get it on my iPhone. Someone bug EA to port it over. Chromecasting is largely lost on me as my PC and TV are right next to each other and connected via HDMI. But it's nice if my wife's on the computer, I can cast YouTube or Netflix at the TV (as long as she isn't watching something on the computer, that is). So the games really got to me, because that gave the Chromecast a purpose. But the real star is the Nexus Player. I guess it's about the same as an Apple TV sans branding, but I bet you can't get Kodi on an Apple TV, and I'm not sure I'd want the Nexus Player if I couldn't get Kodi on it. And I got it for $40, Apple TV is $100 (and so is NP at retail price).
  • I'll add two: For parents, YouTube kids works really well with Chromecast and is currently my daughter's primary source of entertainment. YouTube has done a really good job of filtering content that is not appropriate for children, and while I'd like more options to filter, it's still a winner for us. Downcast is another podcast app that is Chromecast compatible. It's my podcast app of choice!
  • I like ArkMC for streaming. It supports many formats and one of the features that I really like is Dolby Sound. It also converts video formats from mp4 to MKV what most of the streaming apps do not have.
  • Does an iPhone stream 4K content where available on the the new chrome Cast?
  • It should. In general, Chromecast gets the link for the video you're casting - it doesn't actually stream it from your phone. Sent from the iMore App
  • I have only Apple Devices (MacBook - iPhone - AppleTV - iPad Pro) Would a Chromecast make sense for me? Never seen one in action....
  • I'm predominantly have an Apple ecosystem i.e. iPhone, iPads, iPod, MacBook, Mac mini, AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express and even an old Apple TV, and also a Chromecast convert. Every TV in my house has a Chromecast attached, including one of the latest Ultra's, I never use the Apple TV these days, and just added a Chromecast Audio and a Google Cast enable Sony speaker. The whole system is brilliant, there are plenty of iOS google cast apps, and I can even wirelessly stream my MacBook screen to the TV. Best apps for me are; Photo/Video Cast (for photos), Google Photos (photos obviously), YouTube, BBC iPlayer (UK only), AllCast (music), TED, BBC iPlayer Radio, AirParrot 2 (MacBook). It's a no brainer for me, I'm just waiting for the launch of the Google Home speaker in the U.K. next year.