While there won’t be any significant UI changes in the impending Android 16 update for Pixel devices, it will finally provide a long-awaited feature: support for Auracast. Devices can initiate or listen to adjacent audio streams thanks to the Bluetooth LE Audio standard’s Auracast functionality, which is the marketing name for broadcast audio. Despite Google’s announcement that the latest Pixel smartphones will support Auracast in Android 16, if you install the beta, the capability is not yet available. Here’s how to turn on Auracast on an Android 16 beta-powered Pixel device.
To put things in perspective, Google said in March that owners of Pixel 9 devices could receive Auracast broadcasts straight to their hearing aids. The Pixel 9 must be running the Android 16 beta and have LE Audio-compatible headphones in order to use this feature. Google emphasized the accessibility advantages of Auracast, although the capability works with any audio device that can receive LE Audio broadcasts, not only hearing aids.
Auracast isn’t actually enabled in the current Android 16 Beta 4 version, even though Google previously stated that it will work on Pixel 9 devices running the Android 16 beta. The “Audio Sharing” page was missing from Settings after I factory reset my own Pixel 9 and updated it to this beta. I know how to make this settings page available, but I’m not sure why it’s hidden by default.
To activate Audio Sharing on your Pixel device, you need to first enable Developer Options. Then, navigate to Settings > System > Developer options and scroll down until you find “Enable Bluetooth LE Audio Broadcast UI preview.” Toggle this setting on, and then reboot your phone. Once your phone boots back up, go to Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences, where you’ll find the “Audio sharing” page.
By connecting a headset that supports Auracast and turning on the “share audio” feature from this page or the Bluetooth panel, you can now begin an audio broadcast. You can set a password for your broadcast to keep undesirable listeners from joining. Tap the “find an audio stream” option to look for streams in your area if you would prefer to listen in on a broadcast.
Make sure Bluetooth LE Audio is turned on for that particular device if Android still prevents you from starting or listening to adjacent broadcasts even when you have an Auracast-capable audio device connected. You may need to manually activate LE Audio via the Bluetooth device details page for a lot of audio items. As an alternative, you can compel Android to automatically enable Bluetooth LE Audio for any compatible audio device by turning on the “bypass Bluetooth LE Audio Allowlist” toggle in Developer Options.
Finally, your Pixel device does not support Auracast if you do not see the “Enable Bluetooth LE Audio Broadcast UI preview” toggle in Developer Options. At the moment, the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold are compatible with Auracast.
This toggle won’t show up for devices like the Pixel 7 series, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8a, and Pixel 9a, even though they theoretically support Bluetooth LE Audio. However, they don’t support Auracast. Since the Pixel 6 series does not support LE Audio, it does not meet the requirements to use Auracast and will not display the toggle.
Remarkably, the most recent stable version of Android 15 for Pixel smartphones with Auracast support does have the “Enable Bluetooth LE Audio Broadcast UI preview” button. Accordingly, installing the Android 16 beta is not strictly required in order to utilize the Audio Sharing feature. You might anticipate that Audio Sharing would be enabled by default in the Android 16 beta, given Google’s announcement, but it might not be the case with the next stable release of Android 16. Google is anticipated to release the stable Android 16 version next month, so we’ll have to wait and see.
Google Pixel Watch 4
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8
Keep Reading
Google released its first official Pixel 11 Pro teaser today, confirming a gold finish and giving the clearest look yet at Pixel Glow – the light-up feature Google is betting on to differentiate itself from rivals like the iPhone 17 Pro Max. The Made by Google event is set for August 12. What Google actually […]
The Huawei Nova 17 Air is beginning to take shape in leaks, with the latest report pointing to a possible debut window of late November or early December this year. If accurate, it would mark the first Airy-branded model in the Nova lineup. Weibo leaker SuperDimensional reported that the Huawei Nova 17 Air, also referred […]
Early Geekbench results for the Snapdragon 6 Gen 5 show almost no CPU improvement over the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, with the older chip actually edging it out in single-core performance. GPU gains look more promising, sitting around 20%, but raw processing power appears to be largely unchanged. Typically, when a company like Qualcomm releases […]
New software launches rarely go off without a hitch, and Android 17 is proving no different. Shortly after the update rolled out, Pixel owners began reporting connectivity problems — specifically, losing access to 5G entirely after installing the update. Reports surfaced on the Google Pixel subreddit, with multiple users across different device generations describing the […]
Huawei’s next Kirin 5G chipsets for the Mate 90 series are expected to deliver a meaningful performance step up over the 2025 versions, driven by a shift away from Moore’s Law toward Tau’s Scaling Law. According to a new leak, HarmonyOS 7 is being developed with this architectural shift in mind. Weibo leaker @FixedFocus reports […]
The Honor X70 Pro Max has arrived without any formal launch event, slipping onto the market with a focus on durability, battery endurance, and a capable Qualcomm chipset. The phone comes in four color options: Phantom Purple, Sunburst Gold, Bamboo Rhythm Green, and Phantom Night Black. It measures 161.9 x 76.1 x 7.76mm and weighs […]
Comments & Discussions
Join the conversation! We use Disqus to handle comments. Click the button below to load the comment section.