Consumer audio is going all in on Auracast™ broadcast audio: Are you keeping up?
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Auracast™ broadcast audio, a new Bluetooth® capability, lets you share audio with friends and family; unmute silent TVS in sports bars, gyms, waiting rooms, and more; and tune into public broadcasts at conference halls, event centers, houses of worship, transportation hubs, and others.
Over the last couple of years, Auracast™ broadcast audio has moved beyond concept, becoming a real-world solution for enhancing audio accessibility. More and more venues — from major venues like the Sydney Opera House to local stadiums, theatres, and houses of worship — are deploying Auracast™ solutions to improve assistive listening and bring next-generation audio experiences to life.
And the smartphone ecosystem is playing a pivotal role in accelerating Auracast™ adoption at scale. The Android platform specifically is one such example of this.
The platform foundation for Auracast™ broadcast audio
By enabling Auracast™ broadcast audio at the platform level and supporting broad device interoperability, Android is helping turn an open Bluetooth® standard into real‑world experiences across smartphones, TVs, consumer audio products, and accessibility solutions.
With Android 16, Auracast™ broadcast audio is now supported at the operating‑system level, enabling consistent discovery, connection, and management of broadcast audio across compatible devices. Android smartphones can act as Auracast™ assistants, allowing users to find and join nearby broadcasts in public venues, shared spaces, and private environments.
Smartphone manufacturers, including Samsung, Google, and Xiaomi, are enabling Auracast™ support across their Android portfolios, helping bring broadcast audio capabilities to millions of users worldwide. “The introduction of Auracast™ broadcast audio will enable us to move from personal wireless listening experiences to shared wireless listening experiences, unlocking the full potential of wireless audio and bringing even more value and delight to our customers,” said Zeng Xuezhong, SVP and president of the smartphone department at Xiaomi Corporation.
Auracast™ momentum continues in televisions. With support in the latest Android TV OS (TV 14), TV manufacturers can integrate Auracast™ broadcast audio directly into televisions, turning TVs into broadcast audio sources. Manufacturers, such as Samsung, LG, Hisense, TCL, and others, are already including Auracast™ broadcast audio in their TVs, enabling new audio experiences for not only private listening at home but also supporting shared and accessible audio in sports bars, gyms, waiting rooms, and other public venues.
Consumer audio devices complete the experience
Auracast™ broadcast audio is now being integrated into a growing range of consumer audio products, bringing shared listening experiences into everyday devices and environments. Leading audio brands are already incorporating Auracast™ capabilities across their product portfolios. For many of these companies, Auracast™ broadcast audio is expanding what users expect from wireless audio, enabling new ways for people to experience sound beyond traditional one-to-one listening.
For example, brands like JBL and Sony, with broad portfolios spanning headphones, earbuds, and speakers, are helping to introduce Auracast™ experiences to mainstream consumers at scale. Sennheiser is another example of a manufacturer incorporating Auracast™ broadcast audio across its lineup to support new types of listening experiences that deliver more consistent and flexible audio experiences and extend beyond individual use cases and into more dynamic, shared environments.
This shift is accelerating rapidly. ABI Research predicts that Auracast™ broadcast audio will become a standard feature within the majority of Bluetooth® enabled audio devices, signaling a transition from early adoption to mainstream deployment across the consumer audio market.
Auracast™ broadcast audio is becoming a shared foundation for the future of audio, and open collaboration is what’s making it possible.
Hearing aids are also an essential part of the broader Auracast™ ecosystem. Leading hearing aid manufacturers, such as GN ReSound, Starkey, and Oticon, have adopted Auracast™ broadcast audio in their latest hearing aid platforms. By leveraging an open Bluetooth® standard, these devices can interoperate with Auracast™ enabled transmitters and assistants, including smartphones, without being tied to any single mobile operating system.
“One of the things that excites me most is the way Auracast™ broadcast audio creates a sense of community between people with normal hearing and people with hearing loss, as everyone can partake in this technology,” said Tammara Stender Au.D., director of external relations in global audiology at GN.
Auracast™ broadcast audio allows hearing aids, consumer electronics, and mobile platforms to work together to create more inclusive and future‑ready audio experiences.
An open, interoperable path forward
Together, the Android smartphone platform, Android TV platform, and Auracast™ enabled hearing aid and other Auracast™ audio devices form a practical, end‑to‑end broadcast audio experience that works today. Currently, there are several enablers supporting alignment around open standards that aredriving Auracast™ adoption.
- Android 16 enables Auracast™ broadcast audio at the platform level
- Samsung, Google, and Xiaomi are scaling it in smartphones
- Samsung, LG, Hisense, Panasonic, Xiaomi, TCL, and others are enabling it in TVs
- JBL, Sennheiser, Sony, and more are shipping consumer audio products
- GN ReSound, Starkey, Oticon, and others are adopting Auracast™ solutions for hearing aids
Each participant plays a distinct role, but together they are proving that Auracast™ solutions can scale across industries, device categories, and use cases without locking users into a single device manufacturer. This means that Auracast™ broadcast audio is becoming a shared foundation for the future of audio, and open collaboration is what’s making it possible.
Learn more about Auracast™ broadcast audio.
