2024 must be the yr of Android 15, if all the things at Google runs on schedule, and the indicators are that the upcoming successor to Android 14 goes to deliver with it a big enhance in Bluetooth performance.
As noticed by seasoned code digger Mishaal Rahman over at Android Authority, the most recent beta model of Android 14 comes with quite a few mentions of audio sharing. This code is hidden for now, however it’s prepared and ready to be utilized.
The code describes a brand new web page inside Android the place you get a swap to toggle the sharing of audio, a QR code to let different folks tune in, an inventory of close by audio streams, and a button to alter the Bluetooth machine you are listening on.
In different phrases, it sounds rather a lot like Bluetooth Auracast, the new-ish Bluetooth LE Audio customary that allows you to wi-fi share audio streams with folks round you. Take into consideration sharing a podcast with a pal on a bus experience, for instance, or listening to an album in sync with another person when you’re at residence.
A very long time coming
The intelligent a part of Bluetooth Auracast is that it does not depend on the conventional pairing course of, making it a lot simpler to have a number of streams going on the identical time on a number of gadgets. In principle, an infinite variety of gadgets can join, making it appropriate for public broadcasts at ready rooms, gyms, bars, airports, and extra.
Look again by the TechRadar archives and you may see that Bluetooth Auracast has been round for some time, although there are nonetheless solely a comparatively small variety of merchandise that truly have built-in help for it.
That would change if it turns into extra prominently baked into Android 15. On the CES 2024 expo earlier this month, we bought some hands-on time with the tech, and it clearly has numerous potential in a variety of various situations.
The possibilities are that Google will point out this as a key new function of Android 15 when the early variations are introduced within the coming months – and we have already heard how the software program would possibly embody updates to how battery life is displayed and what you are able to do with the lock display.