Android 13 Already Provides Support for Bluetooth LE Audio, but It Will Take a While for the Standard to Be Brought to Other Smartphones
By default, Android 13 has a way for a phone to support ‘higher quality’ or ‘higher bandwidth’ audio. The feature could arrive for the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel 7a, according to a discussion spotted by 9to5Google that took place between two Googlers. In the conversion, one Googler asks whether a particular XML file is actually being used by Android or if it is placed there as an example. Responding to the first Googler, the second Googler pastes links to where the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel 7a add their Bluetooth LE Audio settings, though the Googler does not explicitly mention the model names. Instead, Googler refers to those devices as ‘p22/p23a,’ in which case ‘p22’ is short for the Pixel smartphones launching later this year. As for ‘p23a,’ it is the successor to the Pixel 6a and will likely be called the Pixel 7a when it has officially launched next year. Assuming all Pixel 7 models get Bluetooth LE Audio support, the benefits will include better efficiency from the newer generation of wireless earbuds. Phones supporting the new standard will simultaneously be able to send audio to both buds rather than bridging the audio from one bud to the other. Another improvement is the introduction of the LC3 audio codec, which compresses audio more efficiently than previous standards, and as a result, it will use less data. The new codec can also adjust itself accordingly for long-distance connections. For this to work, though, both your phone and wireless earbuds need to support Bluetooth LE Audio, otherwise you will not be able to experience those benefits. News Source: 9to5Google
