Since the AirPods first pitched up in 2016, truly wireless headphones (with each earbud separate) have become more and more popular, and now Android is getting new features to improve how these devices connect up.
New changes arriving for the Bluetooth Fast Pair feature in Android include individual battery life readings, so you can see how much battery juice you’ve got left in your left earbud, your right earbud, and the charging case.
What’s more, devices connected via Fast Pair will soon shown up in the Find My Device app on Android and the app, making it easier to track down where your missing wireless headphones have got to.
All of this is being brought together in a device details page inside Android, which will display the battery life of your buds, a link to the Find My Device feature, links to the headphones’ own companion app, and Google Assistant settings (if the headphones are compatible).
The Bluetooth device details page is going to be rolling out with Android Q later this year, Google says, although it’s not clear exactly when features like battery life indicators and Find My Device support will go live.
What we do know is that you’ll need a compatible device for all this to work: Google mentions that headphones from the likes of Anker, JBL, Jaybird, 1More, LG and Cleer are being added to the list, though no doubt more will be on the way.
As The Verge reports, existing Fast Pair headphones will all get the new features as well, so that includes the likes of the Google Pixel Buds and the Bose QuietComfort 35 II. The battle with Apple and the iPhone is well and truly on.
It’s likely that both Apple and Google will launch truly wireless headphones of their own in the near future. We’re expecting an AirPods refresh sometime in 2020, while the original Pixel Buds will be two years old in October – just in time for the Pixel 4 launch.
