As part of its Better Together With Android announcement tied to CES 2022, Google says it will be creating its own versions of two of Apple’s most notable audio features: The ability to seamlessly move your headphones’ Bluetooth connection from a phone to a computer and vice versa, and support for head-tracking spatial audio.
“To amplify your visual and audio experiences,” the company said in its press release that “your devices should instinctively know which of them you want to use and when. We’re building a technology for Bluetooth-enabled headphones that will enable them to automatically switch the audio to whatever device you’re listening to.”
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As an example, Google says that if you’re wearing headphones to watch a movie on your Android tablet and you receive a phone call, the movie will pause and your headphone audio will automatically switch to your Android phone and then switch back to the movie when you’re done.
An animation showing automatic audio switching from an Android tablet to an Android phone. Credit: Google.
That description is pretty much exactly how automatic audio switching works within the Apple ecosystem, if you’re using iOS, iPadOs, or MacOS devices with Apple or Beats Bluetooth earbuds and headphones. With Apple’s version, you must be signed into iCloud on all of your devices in order for it to work. Google hasn’t indicated if its version of automatic switching will require a similar signed-in state or not.
It also looks like Google is very keen to bring Apple’s head-tracking spatial audio feature to non-Apple headphones and devices. Head-tracking spatial audio in Apple’s universe enables two distinct listening experiences: When listening to Dolby Atmos Music, it can simulate what it’s like to be sitting in front of a band — turning your head makes it seem like singer and some of the instruments haven’t moved their position. Similarly, when watching movies or shows with 5.1, 7.1, or Dolby Atmos soundtracks, the technology can simulate what it’s like to be sitting in a full home theater, even when using your phone or tablet as the main screen.
Google hasn’t confirmed that its version of spatial audio will work exactly the same way as Apple’s, but it’s probably going to be similar: “Spatial audio on your headsets will make you feel like you’re really there by adapting the sound based on your head movements, positioning the audio in the space all around you,” Google said.
Adding these features to Android, Android TV, and Chrome OS is something Google can do with a software update, but there’s also the hardware component — which headphones and earbuds will support these features? For now, the company has said only that “these features will be available in the next few months on supported headphones.”
A new Mercedes might be the best way to experience Apple Music’s spatial audio
Mercedes has announced that it's the first car maker to give drivers a way to hear Apple Music's spatial audio content as it was meant to be experienced. Starting with the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and the EQE, EQE SUV, EQS, and EQS SUV, spatial audio tracks in Dolby Atmos Music from Apple Music can be played without the use of an iPhone when buyers select the Burmester 4D or 3D sound system option for their vehicles.
Dolby Atmos support in cars isn't new. The Lucid Air became the first car to support the 3D audio format in 2021, and Mercedes itself added support for it on its Burmester systems that same year. But having a sound system that is Dolby Atmos capable, and being able to actually stream Dolby Atmos content to that system, are different things. Prior to Mercedes' announcement, getting a true Dolby Atmos Music experience from Apple Music meant using an iPhone with headphones or earbuds, or using an Apple TV connected to a Dolby Atmos-capable TV, soundbar, or home theater system.
Android is stealing one of the best iPhone features for wireless headphones
Android devices are finally getting Bluetooth audio switching. After years of watching iOS users have fun from afar, Android owners can finally join the party and live a life of convenience. Now, you won't have to constantly search through Bluetooth settings when using Fast Pair earbuds and can go between your Android phone, tablet, or vice versa.
Fast Pair has long allowed Android users to quickly pair wireless earbuds without fiddling through device settings. Now, Google's expanding Fast Pair to allow for seamless device switching across multiple devices. Listening to music on your Android phone but want to switch to watching a movie on your Android tablet? With a supported pair of headphones, they'll now automatically switch between devices on their own. This has been a highly requested feature ever since it was introduced for iOS with Apple's AirPods, so it's nice to see Google putting the effort into creating its own version.
Apple will use the iPhone’s camera to personalize spatial audio
If you had blinked, you might have missed it: During the WWDC 2022 keynote address, Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, focused on the new features we can expect in iOS 16. In his presentation, he briefly mentioned that you'll be able to use an iPhone's true depth camera to personalize spatial audio.
What does that mean? Well one of the keys to providing an immersive, 3D-like effect from spatial audio content using headphones is something called Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF). It's the science of understanding how everyone's head shape and ear position can affect how you hear and process sounds in three dimensions.
