One of the key benefits of Bluetooth LE audio is Auracast: a method of broadcasting content to connected devices in public environments. It also allows you to easily connect multiple wireless speakers to each other through in-depth use of the app. Perhaps most importantly, the barrier to entry will be very low, as dedicated Auracast apps will be built into mobile platforms such as iOS and Android. Additionally, you can select available channels just like you would a Bluetooth device or Wi-Fi network. It’s simple and presented in a way that will be familiar to anyone who has used a smartphone. Companies launching new audio gear at CES 2024 keep mentioning Auracast, so here’s what you need to know.
What is Auracast?
In short, Auracast broadcasts audio via Bluetooth. The Auracast transmitter, available as a professional-grade add-on to a TV or box in public environments, looks like a Wi-Fi router mounted on the wall. You can also create your own channel via your mobile phone or laptop to share sounds and music from TV shows. This means you can stream audio from your silent airport TV to your headphones or earbuds while traveling. Auracast also allows you to keep tabs on flight and gate information without interrupting your layover entertainment.
During a CES demonstration, the Bluetooth SIG, the organization that defines the Bluetooth standard, allowed viewers to experience the airport TV scenario described above. Simply click on one or the other in the Auracast menu to easily switch between the two sports broadcasts in the faux bar. Clicking again, we can listen to a private stream from the laptop, which is password protected so only the appropriate invitees can access it. Another use case is that live audio from a lecture or performance can be broadcast directly to earbuds, hearing aids or other Bluetooth listening devices via Auracast. Impressively, there’s no lag with any of the options, as the visuals match perfectly every time.
“The analogy I use is very similar to setting up a personal hotspot,” Chuck Saban, Bluetooth’s senior director of market development, explains of these private Auracasts. “You can set up a personal audio hotspot and it will be encrypted and then anyone around me who has that password can listen.”
Auracast also helps you connect multiple Bluetooth speakers together at the touch of a button. Until now, most companies let you select your device within the app. But companies like JBL are putting dedicated Auracast buttons on some of their new devices. For example, in the company’s PartyBox series, you’ll press a button on the main speaker connected to your phone, and then all you have to do is press buttons on successive units to link them. Additionally, in this case, you can chain countless speakers together.
What devices does Auracast work on?
Auracast is the Bluetooth LE audio feature launched with Bluetooth 5.2. So technically any earbuds, headphones, hearing aids, speakers and other devices with that version of the wireless standard will be able to tune to Auracast. However, Bluetooth 5.3 provides a more powerful implementation of broadcast audio tools.
“What 5.3 brings is ISOC channel functionality in the core, which allows for multiple independent channel functions,” Saban said. “You can effectively parse out left and right [channels] He further explained that all of this processing has been moved from the earbuds or headphones themselves to the phone, which extends the battery life, performance and efficiency of Bluetooth devices.
When will Auracast be available?
Many Bluetooth devices support Bluetooth 5.2 or 5.3 and LE audio. Since Auracast is part of Bluetooth, no additional technology is required to include it; products only need to support the latest version of the wireless standard. From that point on, companies can flip the switch on LE Audio and Auracast. In 2023 and at CES, many audio brands said they planned to add support for this feature through over-the-air updates later in 2024.
We will provide live coverage of CES 2024, which will be held in Las Vegas from January 6th to 12th.Get all the latest news from the show here.
This article was originally published on Engadget: https://www.engadget.com/bluetooth-auracast-is-everywhere-at-ces-2024-so-what-is-it-224509414.html?src=rss
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