Google Cast SDK release - July 17, 2026

[cast-sdk-announcements]

Hello Google Cast developers!

We are re-releasing the Google Cast Receiver SDK after last month's rollback.  The new release is available now as a public preview, version 3.0.0152.  The full rollout will take a few weeks as we monitor performance and slowly ramp up the new version.  We anticipate beginning the rollout on July 21, 2026 and completing the rollout on August 11, 2026, but this is not guaranteed.

Major changes compared to the current production release:

• The default Shaka Player version used by CAF is updated from 4.9.2 to 4.15.35. See the Shaka Player changelog for a complete list of changes.
• Default useShakaForHls to true, making Shaka the default for all playbacks. Apps can still opt out. See HLS on Shaka Player Migration
• Added metadata API getDeviceInformation() to CastReceiverContext

Changes since the failed release in May:

• Fix the v2 SDK failing to load on 1st gen Chromecasts
• Fix player stuck in buffering state post-ad-break
• Map "audio/x-mpegurl" and "audio/mpegurl" MIME types as HLS for Shaka Player, fixing error code 4000

For a complete list of changes, see the release notes: https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/release-notes

Best regards,
Google Cast SDK Team