The Most Exciting Bluetooth Feature You’re Missing
▼ Summary
– Auracast is a Bluetooth technology that allows multiple audio devices to connect to a single source without pairing, similar to tuning into a radio broadcast.
– The technology offers significant accessibility benefits, like helping the hard of hearing or enabling personalized audio in public spaces, but it suffers from low consumer awareness.
– Despite being available, Auracast adoption is slow, with many tech companies not supporting it or failing to prominently market it in compatible products.
– Early adopters like JBL have faced implementation challenges, including interoperability issues, which the Bluetooth SIG and manufacturers are working to resolve.
– Wider adoption depends on increased consumer education and infrastructure investment, but a trend toward brand-specific ecosystems may hinder its growth.
Imagine a world where your headphones could instantly tune into the airport gate announcement, the gym television, or a lecture microphone without any complicated pairing. This is the promise of Auracast, a transformative Bluetooth feature that functions like a private radio station, broadcasting audio to an unlimited number of nearby devices. While the technology officially launched several years ago and is already embedded in many products, a surprising lack of promotion from major brands means most consumers are completely unaware it exists.
The capability to connect directly to a public broadcast offers significant benefits, particularly for enhancing auditory accessibility in noisy environments or for those who are hard of hearing. Despite its potential, news about Auracast often surfaces only at annual tech shows before fading from the spotlight. Recent, quiet additions include support in Sony’s latest headphones under the name “Audio Sharing,” and compatibility in recent smartphones from Google, Samsung, and OnePlus.
JBL stands out as one of the few companies actively promoting Auracast in its compatible speakers and headphones, even bundling a dedicated transmitter with models like the Tour One M3. This visibility has led some to mistakenly believe it’s a JBL-exclusive technology. As an early adopter, JBL faced implementation hurdles. “We committed to supporting it across multiple platforms during its early development,” explains Sharon Peng, SVP of global engineering at JBL. “Early adopters like JBL had to navigate a degree of ambiguity.” This may explain reported compatibility issues, such as JBL PartyBox speakers only receiving broadcasts from other JBL devices, a problem the company says it is addressing through firmware updates.
Other major manufacturers are far more reserved. Samsung has included Auracast in its high-end 8K TVs since 2023, and LG added it to its 2025 OLED and QLED models. Neither company mentions Auracast on their product pages, with LG initially directing inquiries to a press release from a hearing aid manufacturer. This silence limits public awareness of a feature that allows multiple viewers to listen to a TV at personalized volumes or with dialogue enhancement, perfect for late-night viewing without disturbing others.
The hesitation seems rooted in a typical industry wait-and-see approach. “Manufacturers often weigh the risks of investing in features that may not yet be widely adopted,” notes Peng. However, integration is not limited to giants. Brands like EarFun have successfully built Auracast into sub-$100 earbuds, proving that significant resources aren’t a prerequisite for adoption.
For Auracast to reach its potential, investment is needed in public infrastructure, transmitters in venues and training for staff. While places like the Sydney Opera House have begun implementations, broader everyday use hinges on greater consumer awareness and device availability. This makes the current marketing silence so puzzling; the technology is already in many ears and living rooms, with affordable transmitters available to add it to existing equipment.
A significant barrier is the industry’s preference for proprietary ecosystems over open standards. TCL’s new Dolby Flex Connect speaker, for instance, requires a specific TCL TV, a restriction not inherent to the Dolby technology itself. Apple’s famously closed ecosystem presents the largest question. Widespread adoption could accelerate dramatically if Apple integrated Auracast into its ubiquitous AirPods, though there has been no indication from the company about such plans.
Despite the challenges, there is clear optimism among supporters. Henry Wong, director of market development at the Bluetooth SIG, points to “strong momentum across the industry,” with growing device adoption and deployments in public venues. The future benefits are compelling: customizable TV audio for families, clearer travel announcements, and effortless audio sharing. Yet the promise of Auracast remains locked behind a veil of industry quietude, waiting for the manufacturers who have already built it in to finally start telling the world it’s there.
(Source: The Verge)
