Android 12 will improve your music listening experience over Bluetooth

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Android 12’s first beta has arrived with a large design overhaul and a ton of helpful new options. However, there have been a number of adjustments that weren’t detailed through the I/O 2021 bulletins on the primary days of the occasion, however are actually being noticed in Android help paperwork for builders. One such addition is support for Bluetooth LE Audio profile. The public API permits Android units to pair with a single pair of audio wearable that helps Bluetooth LE Audio.

What is Bluetooth Audio, and why ought to it matter?

Bluetooth Audio is an extension of the Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) customary that has been in use for years in a variety of units, however not consumer-centric audio wearables particularly. That is as a result of Bluetooth LE was created to deal with connectivity whereas consuming as little energy as it might, making certain {that a} system can final for much longer than your common TWS earbuds. And that’s as a result of relating to audio wearables, the extra complexity of dealing with audio streams (particularly for high-bitrate content material) whereas saving battery juice raised its head.

Bluetooth LE Audio ensures high-quality music listening whereas consuming much less energy

Fast ahead to 2020, when Bluetooth LE Audio was introduced. As the identify suggests, it’s a brand new customary for transmitting audio information over a low-energy Bluetooth stream. The core premise is to permit wi-fi audio playback whereas consuming as little power (learn: battery life) as attainable with out compromising on the uncooked listening experience. And to do this, it comes with a brand new high-quality, low-power audio codec referred to as LC3 that’s claimed to retain excessive audio high quality even at low bitrate.

But that’s not all, as a result of Bluetooth LE Audio additionally gives a number of further perks. First, it permits sharing audio from a single supply (learn: smartphone or pill) to a number of audio units concurrently. Essentially, you’ll be able to watch a film on your telephone with a buddy whereas being related with two totally different headphones or earbuds. It additionally brings help for listening to assist units and audio broadcasting.

Are your headphones and earbuds prepared for BLE Audio?

 

In order to make use of Bluetooth LE Audio, your audio system will need to have a suitable Bluetooth chip. Qualcomm – which partnered with Bluetooth SIG in creating requirements for the brand new wi-fi audio profile – at present gives solely a single suitable Bluetooth chip named QCC3056 that was launched solely in December final yr. Needless to say, not many audio wearables on the market come geared up with this Bluetooth LE Audio-ready chip. Even the premium Sony or Bose audio wearable you bought final yr is probably going not suitable.

Is your telephone able to dealing with Bluetooth LE Audio?

The subsequent a part of the equation is smartphones that will run Android 12 down the street. To reap the benefits of Bluetooth LE Audio, they have to additionally pack a chip that permits audio transmission over Bluetooth LE. And that is the place the state of affairs will get trickier, as a result of there are solely a handful of telephones on the market which are able to deal with Bluetooth LE Audio.

audio sharing

At the second, smartphones powered by the Snapdragon 888 and Snapdragon 865 Plus SoC help Bluetooth LE Audio, due to the Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 Bluetooth / WiFi combo chip at their coronary heart. Even 2020 flagships powered by the Snapdragon 865 SoC aren’t suitable as a result of the Qualcomm FastConnect 6200 chip inside doesn’t help audio transmission over Bluetooth LE with all the advantages of Bluetooth LE Audio intact.

Android 12 is barely getting future-ready

At this cut-off date, it seems that Google is barely including help for Bluetooth LE Audio in Android 12 as a future-proofing measure. We’ll solely be capable to actually reap the benefits of it when sufficient audio {hardware} and telephones with a suitable chip hit the market, and that too, throughout totally different worth brackets.


Nadeem Sarwar

I’ve been writing about client expertise for over three years now, having labored with names akin to NDTV and Beebom previously. Aside from overlaying the newest information, I’ve reviewed my justifiable share of units starting from smartphones and laptops to good house units. I even have interviewed tech execs and appeared as a bunch in YouTube movies speaking in regards to the newest and biggest devices on the market.





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