Here’s a first look at Bluetooth audio sharing in Android 15
Android 15 will make it easier to start broadcasting or listen in on a Bluetooth LE audio stream.
JoriPress
- Android 15 is adding a dedicated audio-sharing page that lets you listen in or start broadcasting audio, and we have an early look at the feature.
- One of the most hyped features of the new Bluetooth LE Audio standard is Auracast, which enables broadcasting audio from one device to two or even more nearby devices.
- Android has had basic support for Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast since Android 13, but they’re set to be better supported in Android 15.
When you’re traveling with friends or family, there may come a time when your group wants to listen to some audio together, whether it’s from a movie or an album. However, sharing audio with a big group can be challenging, especially because there’s no standardized way to do so. Bluetooth is only designed to stream audio from one source device (like your phone) to one sink device (like your headphones), so it’s out of the question. Fortunately, that’s where the newer Bluetooth LE Audio standard and its Auracast feature come in.
Auracast is a feature of the Bluetooth LE Audio standard that enables broadcasting audio to nearby devices over Bluetooth Low Energy. What makes Auracast special is that the device doing the broadcasting (like your phone) doesn’t need to pair with the devices receiving the broadcast (like other peoples’ phones). Think of Auracast like your car’s radio, but instead of a giant radio tower broadcasting audio data over many miles to your car’s receiver, another phone’s tiny Bluetooth chip broadcasts an audio stream that your phone can listen in on.
