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Recent findings suggest that Wear OS 5 devices could get Bluetooth LE Audio support. This means you could use the standard to stream audio from your smartwatch to your wireless headphones with lower battery consumption. This would be especially useful when using music streaming services from smartwatches while training. Multiple earbud models, like the latest Galaxy Buds 3 series, support Bluetooth LE Audio.
Bluetooth LE Audio support may arrive for Wear OS 5 in upcoming updates
Wear OS device users can enjoy music while training in two ways. They can use a streaming app, like Spotify, or they can store music in the smartwatch’s local storage. To do this, they can connect Bluetooth headphones to their watch instead of their phone. However, listening to music while training significantly increases power consumption, especially when using mobile networks with streaming apps.
That said, it is possible that Wear OS will receive an improvement that will especially benefit your watch’s battery life in that situation. As spotted by Mishaal Rahman from Android Authority, Google would integrate Bluetooth LE Audio support in the upcoming Wear OS 5 update. The source found references to an “LE Audio” option in the Bluetooth settings of the Wear OS 5 developer preview released in May. If implemented, users could switch to Bluetooth LE Audio to save battery life while enjoying music from their watches.
What is Bluetooth LE Audio?
Bluetooth LE (Bluetooth Low Energy) was designed for devices with small batteries. At first, the standard could not stream audio. Later, the organization behind the Bluetooth standard developed Bluetooth LE Audio. The latter basically enabled wireless audio transmission with lower power consumption. Bluetooth LE Audio is compatible with Android phones since version 13. However, Wear OS does not yet support it, since it is a version designed for wearables. Currently, no smartwatches (including the Apple Watch series) support Bluetooth LE Audio.
If Wear OS 5 actually gains Bluetooth LE Audio support, it will be the first OS for watches to do so. The next Wear OS update will have Android 14 in its core, so it’s possible that has something to do with it. It’s noteworthy that Bluetooth LE Audio technology is based on Bluetooth 5.2, so theoretically, any device compatible with Bluetooth 5.2 should support LE Audio as well.
Still, the source adds that smartwatch manufacturers could face some problems implementing LE Audio support retroactively. For example, obtaining the necessary firmware support from the Bluetooth chip vendor. The necessary prior tests and certifications would be another inconvenience to overcome.
Google Pixel Watch 3 is coming soon
During the upcoming Made by Google event, the company will launch the Pixel Watch 3. So far, the leaks have not mentioned anything about Bluetooth LE Audio support on the device. Now, given this development, it is possible that it is the first in its class to boast said feature, although this is pure speculation.
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