Pixel Buds Pro 2 supports Bluetooth audio sharing on Android 15

The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 are a significant improvement over the original Pixel Buds Pro in terms of comfort and battery life, but they also offer new features not seen in their predecessors, such as Gemini Live and Find My Device integration. According to Google’s spec sheet, another new feature that the Pixel Buds Pro 2 offers over the originals is LE Audio support, which got me wondering: Do the Pixel Buds Pro 2 support Auracast? I can now confirm that yes, Google’s latest Pixel Buds do indeed support Auracast, and I was even able to try out the feature on my own headphones.

If you don’t know, Auracast is a feature based on the Bluetooth LE Audio standard. It was created to solve one of the biggest problems with Bluetooth audio streaming: the inability to stream audio to multiple Bluetooth devices. Most Bluetooth devices can only transmit audio to one other device, which is a limitation of the basic Bluetooth Classic Audio specification. To get around this limitation, some manufacturers like Samsung and Apple are implementing custom Bluetooth stacks that allow their phones to share audio with multiple devices. The problem with this approach is that it only works if everyone has a phone or headset from the same manufacturer.

Auracast solves all of these problems by standardizing the way devices transmit audio over Bluetooth. One device starts the wireless audio stream, and nearby Auracast-enabled devices can then choose to listen to the audio stream. The device that starts the audio stream acts like a mini radio tower that blindly emits sound around itself.

With the exception of the Pixel 8a, Google’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 series also support Auracast, although the interface for actually connecting to audio streams is currently hidden in Google’s Android 15 software. Google will likely enable this Bluetooth audio sharing interface on Auracast-enabled Pixel phones in the upcoming Android 15 QPR update. I think the reason it hid it was because it didn’t have any Auracast-enabled headsets to sell to users – at least until now.

Pixel Buds Pro 2, as I mentioned earlier, support Auracast technology. To test this, I activated the hidden Bluetooth audio sharing interface in Android 15 on my Pixel 8 Pro, launched an Auracast broadcast, and connected to that broadcast using my Pixel Buds Pro 2 headphones paired with my Galaxy Z Fold 6. I was then able to hear all the audio playing from my Pixel 8 Pro through the Pixel Buds Pro 2, even though my headphones were paired with my Galaxy Z Fold 6. This is because the Galaxy Z Fold 6 only helps the Pixel Buds Pro 2 connect to the Auracast, as the buds themselves do not have the ability to select a broadcast and enter the correct connection details.

When I later paired the Pixel Buds Pro 2 with the Pixel 8 Pro and then disconnected them, Android 15 showed text in Settings confirming that the headphones supported audio sharing. Given my testing, I was already sure of this, but it was nice to see it stated so clearly.

What’s strange to me is that Google has been so cagey about whether the Pixel Buds Pro 2 supports Auracast. I asked this question before launch but never got a clear answer, so I’m glad I could finally confirm for myself that the plugs support this feature. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long until Google rolls out its Bluetooth audio sharing interface, so Pixels will finally be able to stream audio to multiple Bluetooth devices.