In the new blog Samsung has announced expanded support for a number of audio technologies, including Auracast, 360 Audio, and Auto Switch. None of them will debut on Samsung devices, but it gives an idea of how widely they will be supported across the lineup. Samsung says the updates will be gradually rolled out from the end of this month.
Auracast — is a relatively new Bluetooth technology that allows a single device to broadcast an audio stream to a theoretically unlimited number of endpoints, such as speakers and headphones. Last year, Samsung announced support for this technology for the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro headphones and its latest high-end TVs, and with the launch of the Galaxy S24 series in January, it has also been added to the Galaxy S24 series. Now, Samsung has confirmed an expanded list of phones and tablets that will be able to broadcast or receive Auracast streams, transmits The Verge.
On the broadcast side, devices must be running Samsung One UI 6.1 or later. Supported devices include the Galaxy S23 series, Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5 smartphones, and Tab S9 tablets. Meanwhile, devices with One UI 5.1.1 will be able to select and receive Auracast broadcasts. In addition to the above-mentioned devices, the list also includes Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4, A54 5G, M54 5G smartphones and Tab S9 FE and Tab Active 5 5G tablets.
Auracast — is an industry-wide technology that also appears in speakers and headphones from brands such as JBL and Sennheiser.
Regarding the Galaxy S24 series and its real-time translation feature, Samsung says that when you connect Galaxy Buds to your phone, the translated audio will be played through the headphones, and the person you are talking to will hear your words in translation through the phone’s speaker.
Samsung is also expanding support for Audio 360 to a range of its Neo QLED and OLED TVs. This is a surround sound technology that uses head movement tracking to make it appear as if the sound is coming from the side of the screen, and is currently supported on some Samsung phones and tablets. A full list of supported TVs can be found on Samsung’s blog, and Samsung says the feature works with the Buds 2 Pro and Buds 2 headphones.
Finally, there’s the Auto Switch feature, which automatically switches the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro’s Bluetooth connection between selected Samsung tablets or TVs and your smartphone when a call is received. Samsung now says this feature is being expanded to support Galaxy Book laptops with Samsung One UI 6.0 software installed.