Corded Approach
One of the easiest ways to connect the phone to a television is to connect it with a physical cord. In order to do this, users first need a cord where one side connects to their mobile device and the other side connects directly to the TV via HDMI cord. For Android devices, a cord such as the micro USB to HDMI cord can be used to achieve this while on the iOS device, an adapter must be purchased which is a cord that connects to the device and then an HDMI cord that goes from the adapter straight to the TV. Once these are all plugged in to their respective devices, users are then able to stream the content of their device straight to the television to improve the viewing and usability experience. While this option is extremely cost effective, a limitation is that users must be physically near their television as the cord is of limited length. For this reason, a wireless method is outlined below as a more convenient but costlier alternative.
Google Chromecast
A highly convenient alternative to the corded approach of streaming the phone to the television is to use a Google Chromecast which lets users display their mobile screen to the television without the need for physical wires. Using the WiFi, the Chromecast essentially converts the television into a smart TV by allowing users to stream their mobile content to the TV easily. All that is required to do this is for users to purchase the Chromecast which lets users stream many of the apps on their Android device such as YouTube and Google right to the TV and then plug it into an HDMI port on the television. However, a drawback to this method is that not all of the apps will be able to be streamed to the television from the Android device and even fewer will be able to display on the TV from iOS devices. For this reason, the next tool will be more catered to iOS devices.
For iOS devices, the easiest way to stream the mobile phone to the television is to use an Apple TV box which is similar to the Google Chromecast in that users are able to stream their mobile device to the TV. To get this feature to work, users first need to swipe up from the bottom, clicking on AirPlay, choosing the Apple TV button, and then select Mirroring. With this, the screen becomes mirrored onto the larger television screen and even works in landscape mode and everything that a user does on the mobile device, either from an iPhone or iPad, can be seen on the television screen without the need to have a smart TV. Although this device is slightly more expensive than the other alternatives, it does come with a remote so that users are able to better control the media that is played instead of having to control everything through their iOS device.
For those who are looking for different ways to stream their mobile phone screen straight to the television without having to purchase a smart TV, the different methods and tools outlined in this article are able to help users do so at a cheap cost. From cords that are inexpensive to operating system specific tools that are designed for either the Android or iOS device, using these methods, users can quickly stream their mobile phone to a larger television for a greater viewing experience.
