You may already be familiar with the technology that allows for the sharing of audio since it has been around for some time. In the event that you own a Samsung phone, it is quite probable that Dual Audio is accessible to you. Similarly, Apple offers a capability that is comparable for iPhones. When it comes to streaming music from your phone to other devices, such as wireless earbuds, the majority of us have participated in the practice of using Bluetooth. On the other hand, Bluetooth has been very restricted in terms of its ability to sync many devices, at least with the version that AOSP has provided. The good news is that Auracast enables you to extend that connection to several devices, and Google is working to improve support for this feature in Android 15, which will be released later this year.
According to Android Authority, Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast have been supported to a certain extent since Android 13, but their support is growing considerably stronger with Android 15. There will soon be an improvement in support for Auracast, which will allow you to use Bluetooth Low Energy to broadcast audio to many devices that are in close proximity to you.
In order to take use of this functionality, you will require audio devices that are compatible with Auracast. However, the standard is gaining more and more traction as more headphones and earbuds are being sold with the necessary Bluetooth LE Audio compatibility. Android 15 will have an audio-sharing Settings page, which will allow users to connect to, locate, or initiate an Auracast stream. This is part of Google’s preparations for the adoption of this feature.
Getting started with an Bluetooth Auracast stream
Mishaal Rahman, an expert in Android computing, put the capability to the test on his Google Pixel 8 Pro, which was running Android 15 Beta 1.1. He was successful in connecting his Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 5 devices. After some adjustments were made to activate the latent code for the function, the new Settings page became accessible by going to Settings, selected Connected Devices, then selecting Connection preferences, and finally selecting Audio sharing. The Share audio option may be activated here in order to start the streaming process.
A message that had links to access settings or to halt the stream showed as soon as the audio-sharing session became active. Additionally, the media output switcher made it very evident that the audio was being shared rather than playing. Through the options menu, Rahman was able to choose a one-of-a-kind broadcast password and name, as well as regulate who could connect to the stream. Another thing that he found out was that the linked devices were unable to control the one-way broadcast; the only device that could do so was the host device.
It was also brought to Rahman’s attention that there was a possibility to generate a QR code that other users might use to connect with you. On the other hand, there was a little difficulty with the procedure, which most likely occurred due to the fact that he had difficulties in connecting Samsung devices to the Pixel 8 Pro by using the ID and password that was generated.
Following the successful completion of the setup process, users were able to join automatically by entering the password that was created below the QR code. On the other hand, Samsung’s Auracast implementation does not permit scanning a QR code in order to connect to a broadcast; thus, there is still a lot of work to be done in this regard. It was necessary to turn off the Improved compatibility option, which is designed to facilitate the connection of devices like hearing aids, in order to resolve the audio difficulties that presented themselves throughout the procedure.
