Connecting Bluetooth devices to your Android phone isn’t always a seamless task. In an attempt to make the pairing experience a much more pleasant one, Google is introducing a new feature dubbed Fast Pair on Android.
In essence, Fast Pair works very much like Apple’s very simple wireless pairing between the iPhone and AirPods. In Android’s case, Bluetooth devices that support the new feature will be automatically recognised by any given Android phone – provided it is running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and above – once the two are in close proximity.
Once the Android phone recognises the Bluetooth device, users will just need to tap on the notification to start the pairing process, which is done via good ol’ Bluetooth. If there’s a companion app for the Bluetooth accessory, Android will automatically offer to download it too.
While this is definitely a very convenient way to connect a Bluetooth device to your phone, very few accessories currently support Fast Pair. According to Google, only two products are Fast Pair-enabled right now: the Google Pixel Buds and the Libratone Q Adapt On-Ear headphones. Soon, the Plantronics Voyager 8200 series wireless headsets will support the feature too.
Hopefully, more Bluetooth devices will support Fast Pair in the future. Accessory makers who want to adopt the new feature can reach out to Google here.
(Source: Android Developers Blog)
