Samsung adds a small but significant upgrade to its TVs – it's crazy that it's taken so long

Samsung TV owners have famously long lived without a few features found on televisions from rival brands – Dolby Vision, for one. Another that comes as more of a surprise is Google Cast.

Samsung's smart TVs have not had native support for Google Cast, with the manufacturer favouring its proprietary Smart View feature instead. Built around Miracast, it has basically offered a similar experience, allowing you to mirror your phone's screen, but it's not quite the same.

However, that's all changing. As well as finally supporting Google Cast on its new, 2026 smart TV models, Samsung has started to roll it out as an upgrade to older sets too. That includes TVs made from 2023 on.

According to XDA Developers, the One UI Tizen v2115 update is now available across multiple Samsung smart TVs released in the last few years. And it includes Cast support.

There is a caveat – your TV needs to have been made and sold from 2023 and run on Tizan OS. But if compatible, you'll find a much better streaming option waiting.

That's because Google Cast is universal – it works across pretty much every Android phone and tablet you can think of, iPhone and iPad too. You just have to tap the Cast icon when you're in a streaming app (if supported), select your TV and away you go.

Perhaps the biggest benefit over Samsung's own Smart View is that Google Cast doesn't technically mirror your device's display. Once Cast, the content is streamed by the TV from the internet directly, leaving your phone to perform other tasks with no slow down or interruption.

You can use your mobile device as a remote, but the video is streamed independently.

This is a big deal for Samsung smart TV owners, many of which have bemoaned its absence over the years. It also allows you to stream from apps that might not be otherwise available on your TV.

Many other brands have offered the service for years – especially those that run Google TV or Android TV – which Samsung owners and others have had to add a Chromecast device for the same functionality. You won't need that any longer.

If your Samsung TV doesn't currently run Tizen v2115.3 or later, check your settings to see if an update is available. It might take a bit longer to reach all the supported models, depending on your region.