Samsung has expanded support for its range of audio
technologies Auracast, 360 Audio, and Auto Switch. While these technologies have
been accessible on Samsung’s devices, the blog post explains the extent to which
they will be supported across the lineup. According to Samsung, the updates
will begin to be introduced starting with the Galaxy Buds 2 and Buds FE from
the end of February, and then to the Buds 2 Pro.
Auracast, an industry-wide and fairly new Bluetooth technology, allows a device to broadcast an audio stream to an unlimited number of endpoints like speakers and headphones. Auracast was first launched to Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 Pro earbuds and its latest high-end TVs last year, following the Galaxy S24 series in January.
Aurcast will now be supported on more of Samsung’s phones
and tablets, including the Galaxy S23 series, Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5 smartphones,
and Tab S9 tablets. These devices must run Samsung’s One UI 6.1 and above
in order to broadcast the audio streams. Moreover, devices running One UI 5.1.1
will be able to select and receive Auracast broadcasts as well. These
include the aforementioned list of devices, as well as the Z Fold 4, Z Flip 4,
A54 5G, M54 5G smartphones, and Tab S9 FE and Tab Active 5 5G tablets.
The 360 Audio, on the other hand, is a surround sound
technology that relies on head tracking to make the audio feel like it is
coming from the direction of the listener’s screen. It has been accessible on Samsung’s
select phones and tablets, and is now coming to a range of the company’s Neo
QLED and OLED TVs. The blog post mentions a list of all of Samsung’s TVs that
support the technology.
Lastly, the Audio Switch is a functionality that
automatically swaps the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Bluetooth connection between select
Samsung devices and the user’s smartphone when they receive a call. The support
for Audio Switch will now also be accessible on Samsung’s Galaxy Book laptops running
One UI 6.0.