Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Code inside the Android Open Supply Venture means that Android 15’s upcoming audio sharing characteristic gained’t be out there on the Pixel 8a or older Pixel units.
- Audio sharing is a characteristic that allows you to broadcast your telephone’s audio to close by units that help Bluetooth LE Audio.
- Whereas the Pixel 8a and even Pixel 7 sequence do help Bluetooth LE Audio, Google doesn’t appear to have plans to allow the requisite broadcasting roles.
If you wish to privately share no matter you’re listening to along with your close by mates or members of the family, you usually want both a sophisticated wiring setup with splitters or everybody to have the identical model of system. That’s as a result of most cellular units and wi-fi headsets that help Bluetooth don’t additionally help the usual’s LE Audio broadcasting characteristic, which standardizes how units broadcast audio to a number of close by units over Bluetooth Low Vitality.
Whereas the most effective Android telephones in the marketplace already help LE Audio and are theoretically able to supporting its broadcasting characteristic, it’s doable that not each LE Audio-capable system will acquire broadcast help. Take, for instance, Google’s Pixel 8a and Pixel 7 sequence. Whereas these units do help LE Audio unicasts — sending audio over Bluetooth LE to a single headset — they’re poised to overlook out on LE Audio broadcast help, based on an Android Authority evaluation.
Earlier this 12 months, we shared a primary take a look at one of the thrilling new options of Android 15 known as Bluetooth audio sharing. Audio sharing is the user-facing title that Google has given for Bluetooth LE Audio broadcasting, which is Auracast, as marketed by the Bluetooth SIG. The audio sharing web page in Android 15 makes it straightforward for customers to begin or hook up with an Auracast broadcast, nevertheless it’s solely out there on units that help LE Audio broadcasts. To check the characteristic out, I wanted to allow LE Audio broadcast help manually on my Pixel 8 Professional in addition to allow Android 15’s audio sharing characteristic. Then, I began a broadcast on my Pixel 8 Professional and linked to it utilizing a few of my Auracast-capable Samsung units.
Enabling LE Audio broadcast help on my Pixel 8 Professional was fairly easy as a result of the firmware help for it was already there. The truth is, all I needed to do was set two system properties — bluetooth.profile.bap.broadcast.help.enabled
and bluetooth.profile.bap.broadcast.supply.enabled
— to “true” for LE Audio broadcast help. These system properties, respectively, allow the Fundamental Audio Profile (BAP) broadcast help position and supply position. The help position permits units to find and hook up with Auracast streams, whereas the supply position permits units to transmit Auracast streams.
Neither system property is enabled by default on any Pixel system proper now, together with the Pixel 8 Professional. Nonetheless, if you happen to compile an Android construct for the Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Professional utilizing the RELEASE_PIXEL_BROADCAST_ENABLED
flag, then these two system properties are routinely added and enabled. Notably, the system make-file for the Pixel 8a is lacking the conditional assertion that inserts these system properties. This doesn’t imply it might’t be added later, nevertheless it’s curious that it’s solely lacking for the Pixel 8a and never the Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Professional.
To make clear, I requested some sources if that they had any further info to substantiate whether or not that is intentional or if it’s being added sooner or later. One supply shared that they noticed proof suggesting that Google intends for LE Audio broadcast help to be reserved for “main telephone[s]” within the Pixel lineup, which means that it’s deliberately being held again from the Pixel 8a. I reached out to Google to see if it might supply a remark and can replace this text with that assertion if I hear again.
Withholding Bluetooth LE Audio broadcasting help from the Pixel 8a can be disappointing however in the end not stunning. In any case, it wouldn’t be the primary audio-related characteristic reserved for Google’s premium telephones since spatial audio is notably lacking on any A-series Pixel. Talking of which, you may clearly see within the Pixel 8a’s make-file that, whereas the spatial audio system library is included, the system property that declares the system helps spatial audio is lacking, in distinction to the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Professional.
System make-files are a good way to outline which information and properties to incorporate in an Android construct, so the truth that there’s no point out of the requisite LE Audio broadcast properties within the Pixel 8a’s make-file suggests the characteristic gained’t be out there on the system. We’re hoping this gained’t be the case when Android 15’s audio sharing characteristic finally launches, as it could be a bummer if solely the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Professional, and Pixel 9 sequence help the characteristic. Sadly, it’s doable the Pixel 7 sequence gained’t help the characteristic both, as their make-files additionally don’t declare any LE Audio broadcast properties. Equally, the Pixel 6 sequence will certainly not help the characteristic, as they don’t even help Bluetooth LE Audio.