You don't forego any of those things when you cast.
Your remote still works, you're in the same media box UI, still only a click away from other apps.
Maybe slightly imperfect, sure. But it works great and I see no reason to act like it isn't a viable workable option.
Mine took at least that long too.
The option to cast a stream from a phone to a Chromecast, Roku, etc has been pretty functional for quite some time now.
I hate the comments in this thread soooo much.
Fuck that shit hole... I'm still participating there... Barely..
Murder urges intensify...
What else can you complain about?