Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Tl; DR
- Android 16 will introduce Auracast management for Pixel devices, but it is hidden in the current beta version and requires a change in developer options to activate.
- This Bluetooth audio function allows it to diffuse or listen to audio flows nearby, to benefit users of hearing aids and other compatible devices.
- Interestingly, this auracast rocking is also present in the latest stable version of Android 15 for capable pixels, which means that beta is not strictly necessary.
The next Android 16 update for Pixel devices may do not bring any change in major user interface, but it will finally introduce a long -awaited feature: Auracast support. AuacastThe marketing name of Broadcast Audio, is a functionality of the Bluetooth audio Standard which allows devices to start or listen to audio flows nearby. Although Google has announced that Android 16 would provide Auracast support to its latest pixel devices, the functionality is currently missing if you install the beta version. Here is how to activate auracast on your pixel device running the Android 16 beta.
To provide a certain context, Google announced in March that the owners of Pixel 9 could broadcast Auracast emissions directly to their hearing aids. This capacity requires that the Pixel 9 executes the Android 16 beta and associated with audio audio compatible aids. Although Google has highlighted the benefits of Auracast accessibility, the functionality extends beyond hearing aids, taking charge of any audio device compatible with audio broadcasts.
Despite Google’s previous announcement that Aracast would be supported on Pixel 9 devices running the Android 16 Beta, the functionality is not really activated in the current Android 16 Beta 4 version. After resetting and updating my own pixel 9 to this beta version, the “Audio sharing” page was not found in the settings. Although it is not clear why this parameter page is masked by default, I know how to make it visible.
To activate audio sharing on your Pixel device, you must first activate the developer’s options. Then access to Settings> System> Development options And scroll down until you find “Activate Bluetooth The Apperpositic of the Audial Broodle. “Switch this parameter, then restart your phone. Settings> Connected devices> connection preferenceswhere you will find it “Audio sharing“Page.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
Left: “Activate Bluetooth the UI Brodualchinclast calling” in developer options. Middle: Android 16 connection preferences Once “Activate Bluetooth The UI Boduscast UI” call is activated. Right: the audio sharing page in Android 16.
Now you can start an audio diffusion by connecting a helmet compatible with Auracast and tilting the “Share audio“Option of this page or the bluetooth panel. To prevent unwanted listeners from joining your diffusion, you can define a password for that. If you prefer to listen to a diffusion, press”Find an audio flow”Button to search for flows nearby.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
On the left: When a helmet compatible Auracast is connected, the Bluetooth panel displays an “Audio Share” button. Middle: The audio sharing settings page when “sharing audio” is activated. Right: the dialog box that appears when you start an audio flow.
If Android does not allow you to start or listen to emissions nearby even with a connected Auracast compatible audio product, make sure that the Bluetooth audio is activated for this specific device. For many audio products, you may need to manually activate audio via the Bluetooth page details of the device. Alternatively, you can switch “Go around the Bluetooth motorway list“In developer options to force Android to automatically activate Bluetooth the audio for any audio product that supports it.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
The page details of the Bluetooth device on a Pixel 9 when a compatible helmet Auracast is connected.
Finally, if you do not see “activate Bluetooth the APPERTIVATIONAL APPLER OF THE IU” Activate developer options, this means that your Pixel device does not support Auracast. Currently, Auracast is supported on the Pixel 8, the Pixel 8 Pro, the Pixel 9, the Pixel 9 Pro, the Pixel 9 Pro XL and the Pixel 9 Pro Plé. While devices such as the Pixel 7 series, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8A and Pixel 9a technically support Bluetooth Le, they do not support Auracast, so this rocking will not appear for them. The Pixel 6 series does not take the support of the audio at all, which means that it does not meet the prerequisites to use Auracast and will therefore not show the rocking either.
Interestingly, the drop in the preview of the Bluetooth audio broadcasting user interface “This means that you do not technically need to install the beta version of Android 16 to use the audio sharing function. Given Google’s ad, you could expect the audio sharing to be activated out of the box in the beta version of Android 16, but it may be the case with the next stable version of Android 16. Should wait and see, because Google should deploy the Stable Android 16 update next month.
