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MagyarCES 2024 | Why young and old should look out for Auracast support on their next Bluetooth wearable
Auracast is back on the agenda at CES 2024. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group, or SIG for short, first presented the technology under this name back in 2022, but it is slowly becoming more and more available in end devices - a good reason to take a look at what it actually does for the user.
Auracast is based on Bluetooth LE Audio and requires the product manufacturer to support the "Public Broadcast Profile" or PBP. The name says it all because Auracast is a solution for distributing audio content to multiple receivers. It is emphasized that an Auracast transmitter can supply an infinite number of receivers, which makes the technology ideal for concerts or announcements in public places.
But private individuals can also benefit in their circle of friends, as we will see in a moment. The quality of the audio transmission depends heavily on the respective end device and the codecs used. The new LC3 codec introduced with Bluetooth LE Audio already achieves a higher quality at 160 kbit/s than the SBC at 345 kbit/s, which is usually used as the lowest common denominator.
It's so easy to connect to a broadcast
On the smartphone, streams offered by Auracast broadcasters appear like available Wi-Fi networks that you can click on. In a demo at the CES in Las Vegas, for example, there were private broadcasters such as a user's laptop or the corresponding departure gate at the airport. The former are optionally protected by a password, and the latter are freely accessible.
Young and old benefit from Auracast
The simple sharing of music, videos, and other content is very popular with younger people. On social media, however, people usually remain alone, but in face-to-face meetings, it is more direct thanks to Auracast. If the transmitter and receiver are Auracast-capable, one click is enough to listen to the same music together, practically simultaneously thanks to the minimal latency of Bluetooth LE Audio of 20 ms to a maximum of 40 ms.
People with more or less pronounced hearing impairments benefit from Auracast broadcasts by having audio content from their surroundings delivered more clearly to their ears, for example at events or at the airport, where they can block out the background noise with their earbuds without missing the important announcements at the departure gate.
Auracast transmitters and receivers
Organizers who want to offer Auracast broadcasts can use dedicated transmitters (see pictures below) to cover ranges of 100 meters; the usual 10-meter distance is the limit for private content sharing. It is important to ensure that your devices support Auracast in the future. Classic Bluetooth earbuds such as the Master & Dynamic MW09 or the Galaxy Buds2 Pro from Samsung (available from Amazon here) already offer Auracast support, at least after an update.
Auracast is also on board with many new announcements, such as the Momentum True Wireless 4 high-end audio headphones from Sennheiser, which have just been unveiled at CES 2024. Hearing aids such as those from Cochlear, Zepp, and GN are also already available with Auracast support. MoerLab offers a whole arsenal of Auracast products, from wireless speakers and headphones to Auracast transmitters. If you want to benefit from Auracast at home, you should also make sure your smart TVs support Auracast.
Source(s)
Own, Bluetooth SIG
