The Pixel Buds Professional 2 are prepared for Android 15’s Bluetooth audio sharing function

The Google Pixel Buds Professional 2 are a big improve over the unique Pixel Buds Professional when it comes to consolation and battery life, however in addition they brings some new options not seen in they’re predecessors, like Gemini Stay and Discover My System integration. In accordance with Google’s spec sheet, one other new function the Pixel Buds Professional 2 have over the originals is help for LE Audio, which acquired me pondering: Do the Pixel Buds Professional 2 help Auracast? I can now verify that sure, Google’s newest Pixel Buds do, actually, help Auracast, and I even managed to attempt it out with my very own earbuds.

Should you aren’t conscious, Auracast is a function that’s constructed on high of the Bluetooth LE Audio commonplace. It was made to repair one of many largest issues with streaming audio over Bluetooth: the lack to stream audio to a number of Bluetooth gadgets. Most Bluetooth gadgets can solely transmit audio to a single different system, which is a limitation of the core Bluetooth Basic Audio specification. To get round this limitation, some producers like Samsung and Apple deploy customized Bluetooth stacks that permit their telephones share audio to a number of gadgets. The issue with this strategy is that it solely works if everybody has a telephone or headset from the identical producer.

Auracast solves all these issues by standardizing how gadgets broadcast audio over Bluetooth. One system begins an audio stream that’s broadcast over the air, after which close by gadgets that help Auracast can select to pay attention to the audio stream. The system that begins the audio stream acts like a mini radio tower that blindly broadcasts audio round it.

Excluding the Pixel 8a, Google’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 sequence additionally help Auracast, although the interface for truly connecting to audio streams is at the moment hidden in Google’s Android 15 software program. Google will seemingly allow this Bluetooth audio-sharing interface on Auracast-capable Pixel telephones in an upcoming Android 15 QPR replace. I believe the explanation it hid it’s that it didn’t have any Auracast-capable headsets that it might promote to customers — at the least, not till now.

The Pixel Buds Professional 2, as I discussed earlier than, help Auracast. To check this, I activated Android 15’s hidden Bluetooth audio-sharing interface on my Pixel 8 Professional, began an Auracast broadcast, and linked to that broadcast utilizing my Pixel Buds Professional 2 paired to my Galaxy Z Fold 6. I used to be then in a position to hear the entire audio taking part in from my Pixel 8 Professional via my Pixel Buds Professional 2, despite the fact that my buds had been paired to my Galaxy Z Fold 6. It’s because the Galaxy Z Fold 6 simply helps the Pixel Buds Professional 2 hook up with the Auracast broadcast, because the buds themselves don’t have any approach to choose a broadcast and enter the proper connection particulars.

Once I later paired my Pixel Buds Professional 2 to my Pixel 8 Professional after which disconnected them, Android 15 displayed textual content in Settings that confirmed the buds help audio sharing. I used to be already positive of this, given my testing, nevertheless it was good to see it laid out so clearly.

I discover it unusual that Google has been so cagey with reference as to if or not the Pixel Buds Professional 2 helps Auracast. That is one thing I requested it about earlier than launch, however I by no means acquired a transparent reply, so I’m glad I used to be lastly in a position to verify for myself that the buds help the function. Hopefully, we gained’t want to attend too lengthy for Google to roll out the Bluetooth audio-sharing interface so Pixels lastly have a approach to stream audio to a number of Bluetooth gadgets.