Chromecast support

Google Cast SDK for iOS Google provides the official Google Cast SDK for iOS, which allows you to integrate Chromecast support into native iOS apps. It’s a standard framework (also available via CocoaPods/SPM) that provides discovery, session handling, and the Cast button UI. For pure audio streaming (i.e., your use case with radio streams), this is significantly easier than with video, because you essentially just pass the stream URL plus metadata to the receiver—the Default Media Receiver is usually sufficient for this. What you need to keep in mind A few pitfalls that are relevant for you as a solo developer: • No macOS support: The Cast SDK is officially only available for iOS (and there’s no tvOS version either). Your macOS version of Pladio would therefore remain AirPlay-only. It might work for Catalyst/iPad-on-Mac, but that’s a gray area. • Bundle Size & Permissions: The SDK includes Local Network Permission (iOS 14+) and Bonjour service entries in the Info.plist. You’ll need to provide a clear justification for this during App Review. • Lifecycle Complexity: You now have two parallel routing paths (AirPlay via AVAudioSession/MPRemoteCommandCenter, Cast via GCKCastSession). Seamless switching between “Local,” “AirPlay,” and “Cast”—including Now Playing info, lock screen controls, and track recognition via ACRCloud—needs to be well thought out. • Track metadata: On Chromecast, you can include title, artist, and cover art as GCKMediaMetadata. This means your ACRCloud-recognized tracks can also be displayed nicely there. • CarPlay remains unaffected: CarPlay and Cast are mutually exclusive, so there is no conflict. License & Commercials The Cast SDK is free to use, but you must accept Google’s Terms. If you want to build a custom receiver (your own UI on the TV), you need to register with the Google Cast Developer Console (one-time fee of $5). For pure audio, however, you typically don’t need this—the default receiver works fine.