I decided to try streaming videos and photos from my iPhone to my TV so I wouldn't have to watch everything on a small screen. I looked for a couple of apps in the App Store, downloaded them, but half of them have limited functionality, and others have annoying ads. I'd like to find something simple and free that would work right away without any fuss. What do people use? Are there any reliable options?

I also encountered this problem when looking for a convenient app for Chromecast. I can recommend looking at this: free Chromecast app for iPhone. There is a good review there that helped me choose the right app. For example, I use "TV Cast for Chromecast" - quite good, although sometimes you need to reconfigure the network. But in general it works stably, especially for video broadcasting.

Interesting question! I use TV with native apps, but I was curious how convenient the iPhone is in conjunction with Chromecast. I always thought that the Apple ecosystem makes such things more complicated. I will gladly read your recommendations and maybe try some of the advice.