Android 16 is getting a major hearing accessibility feature

Android phones will soon support Auracast with Bluetooth LE hearing aids, letting people tune in to audio broadcasts in places where it’s otherwise hard to hear. Auracast is a Bluetooth Audio LE feature, and it allows one broadcaster to connect to a virtually unlimited number of Bluetooth LE devices. Among other things, the technology can help people who use hearing aids connect directly to audio streams like the public announcement system at an airport, or to an audio feed at a concert venue. At launch, Samsung Galaxy phones running One UI 7 and Google Pixel 9 phones with the Android 16 beta will support it.

Auracast has been around since the Bluetooth LE spec was completed in 2022. Samsung’s recent Galaxy phones already support sharing audio to other devices via Auracast, and it looks as though Google will add similar audio sharing capabilities in Android 16. Hearing aid support adds another layer of functionality, and on Pixel 9 phones connecting to a broadcast will be as simple as scanning a QR code. Otherwise, you can access a public broadcast through your settings menu in basically the same way you connect to a Wi-Fi network.