Onkyo and Pioneer add Chromecast and Google Home voice control

Your 2016-onward Onkyo or Pioneer kit may well get a whole lot smarter today. The siblings brands have released a firmware update to bring many of their home entertainment products bang up to date.

MORE: read all our Onkyo reviews

MORE: read all our Pioneer reviews

The update affects products across both brands' stereo, home cinema and network speaker ranges. The Chromecast element connects compatible apps (both iOS and Android) via wi-fi, meaning wireless streaming of network-stored or streaming service-derived music, as well as internet radio, can be enabled.

MORE: Google Chromecast Audio review

The update will also allow owners to use voice-control for streaming playback on their newly updated components when using Google Home or other as-yet-unreleased Google Assistant devices.

These are the Onkyo products affected by the update: PR-RZ5100; TX-RZ710, -810, -1100 and -3100; TX-NR474, -555, -575E, -656, and -676E; TX-L20D and -50; LS5200 and -7200; HT-S7805; TX-8270; NS-6130 and -6170; R-N855; NCP-302.

And these are the corresponding Pioneer components: SC-LX501, -701, -801 and -910; VSX-S520, -S520D, -831, -832, -932 and -1131; VSX-LX302; SX-S30DAB; NC-50DAB; N-30AE; FS-W50; FS-W40; XC-HM86D; X-HM76, -76D and -86D; MRX-3 and -5.

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Simon Lucas is a freelance technology journalist and consultant, with particular emphasis on the audio/video aspects of home entertainment. Before embracing the carefree life of the freelancer, he was editor of What Hi-Fi? – since then, he's written for titles such as GQ, Metro, The Guardian and Stuff, among many others.