Android 15 with new update

 Android 15 is ready to introduce Bluetooth Auracast to all users   

Android 15 will make it easier to start broadcasting or listen in on a Bluetooth LE audio stream. Following are the some of the important points:-

Android 15 is working on improving Bluetooth sharing capabilities with new Auracast functionality.

Android 15 is adding a dedicated audio-sharing page that lets you listen in or start broadcasting audio.

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.       

 Bluetooth LE-compatible devices are needed, but are becoming more widely adopted.

 A new Settings page in Android 15 will let you start an Auracast stream, control access, and use a QR code to connect, among other features.

Settings for multipoint 'audio sharing' take shape in this hands-on with the feature

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). Audio sharing has been around for a while now, and you may have already used the technology. If you have a Samsung phone, it is very likely Dual Audio is available to you, and Apple has a similar feature for iPhones. Using Bluetooth to stream your phone's audio to other devices such as wireless earbuds is something most of us have done. However, when you want to sync up more than one device, Bluetooth has been pretty limited on that front, at least with AOSP's implementation. The good news is that Auracast lets you spread that connection to more than one device, and Google is improving support for this feature in Android 15.  

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. You'll need Auracast-compatible audio devices to take advantage of this feature, but the standard is becoming more widely adopted now that more headphones and ear buds are shipping with the requisite Bluetooth LE Audio support. Google is preparing for this support by adding an audio-sharing Settings page in Android 15, so you can connect, find, or start an Auracast stream.

Some smartphone makers have long offered audio-sharing features that utilize Bluetooth. However, these proprietary implementations typically require either a specific source device (as is the case with “Dual Audio” on Samsung Galaxy devices) or a specific sink device (as is the case with “Share Audio” on Apple iPhone devices). In contrast, Auracast is available to any audio device or platform that licenses and implements the technology from the Bluetooth SIG, the industry consortium that defines the Bluetooth standard. Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast have been supported to some degree since Android 13, but are getting even better with Android 15. Thanks to improved support for Auracast, you'll soon be able to broadcast audio to multiple devices nearby using Bluetooth Low Energy.

To start streaming, after a bit of tinkering to enable latent code for the feature, the new Settings page became available under Settings → Connected Devices → Connection preferences → Audio sharing. Here, a Share audio option could be toggled on to start streaming. Once the audio-sharing session was active, a notification appeared containing buttons to access settings or stop the stream, and the media output switcher made it clear that audio was being shared and not playing. Through the settings menu, we can control who could connect to the stream and choose a unique broadcast password and name. Also, the one-way broadcast could not be controlled by the connected devices, only the host device. There was an option to create a QR code other users could use to connect. Once the setup was successful, users could connect automatically by entering the generated password below the QR code. However, there is no support for scanning a QR code to connect to a broadcast using Samsung's Auracast implementation, so there's work left to be done in this area. Any audio issues can be improved by toggling off the Improved compatibility option which helps devices such as hearing aids connect.

Unfortunately, very few devices on the market have shipped with Auracast support, even though the feature was announced back in June 2022. That’s set to change, though, as the prerequisite Bluetooth LE Audio support has become somewhat of a standard feature for new audio products. In anticipation of these upcoming launches, Google is adding a dedicated “audio sharing” page in Android 15 which allows users to find, connect to, or start their own Auracast stream. It seems the “audio sharing” feature is unfinished in Android 15 or if it’s because of Samsung’s implementation. However, devices were able to connect to broadcast using the automatically generated password shown underneath the QR code (Samsung’s Auracast implementation doesn’t currently support scanning a QR code to join a broadcast). Once connected, both Galaxy phones had media player notifications indicating that they were playing the same audio. Of course, since Auracast is a one-way broadcast, neither device was able to control actual playback. To find and connect to nearby Auracast streams in Android 15, you first need to connect a pair of earbuds that support Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast. In my case, 

Samsung and Apple users have long had the ability to share audio to two Bluetooth headphones, while other users would need to share earbuds or use an external Bluetooth transmitter to accomplish the same thing. Auracast standardizes audio sharing over Bluetooth and even enables sharing with more than two devices, eliminating the need to pick up a specific brand of smartphone or headphones. However, you’ll still need to grab devices that support Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast, which are thankfully becoming more and more commonplace in the market