Despite the fact that many smartphone manufacturers have been trying to produce their own analogs of AirPods for several years, in fact, they managed to simulate only the appearance, but not their essence. After all, real AirPods are distinguished not by high sound quality or advanced features like active noise cancellation, but by convenience, which is expressed in deep integration with the operating system. It is she who provides quick pairing of the headphones with the head unit and the ability to track the charge level of each earphone separately with other related information. Now these and many other features are also available in Android by default.
Google made AirPods possible for Android
Google has released an update for Android that expands Bluetooth to iPhone and is rolling out to all devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and newer OS versions. Technically, the work Bluetooth of the modules that smartphones are equipped with has not changed in any way. However, compatible devices with Android on board learned to quickly pair with some models of headphones and were able to receive detailed information about the connection by analogy with AirPods.
Set your wireless headphones to Android
Wireless headphones control on Android is now as convenient as on iOS
Now users can connect headphones to a smartphone by simply opening the lid and performing other manipulations with them in the system window that appears:
- Track the discharge of each earphone separately and the charging case;
- Customize playback controls;
- Enable and disable additional modes like active noise cancellation;
- Enable or disable ear detection function;
- Set up voice control using Google Assistant.
As you can see, the set of innovations introduced by the update Android turned out to be quite wide, and now, if not superior to iOS, then at least not inferior to it. Another thing is that manufacturers need to adapt the software of their headphones in a special way so that they can quickly interface with smartphones, and give them access to the system menu with the ability to configure them. At this stage, there are only two such headphones: Pixel Buds 2, for which Google has expanded its capabilities Android, and Harman Kardon Fly.
AirPods for Android
Now any manufacturer can make their own AirPods for Android
Perhaps someone would say that what Google is offering is not exactly a seamless experience of using wireless headphones. After all, manufacturers will have to spend time and resources on adaptation. But do not forget that Apple at one time also got worn out and created a software basis for its branded headphones, which no one else can use. In the case of Android, now any manufacturer can teach their headphones to work as smoothly as AirPods, regardless of their price. And since the base is universal, then all the gadgets will be available on all devices with Android 6.0 Marshmallow and newer.
The update released by Google will not be distributed as a system patch, but as an update to Google Play services. Therefore, do not expect a fresh version of the operating system to arrive by air. This was done in order to provide the widest possible audience coverage. After all, if the new functionality was added only to the owners of devices based on Android 10 and 11, this would mean that most users will never see it. However, by releasing an update as part of Google Play services, Google acted very elegantly, confirming that support for Android – smartphones does not end after two years, as many people think, but lasts much longer.