Auracast makes it possible to share high-quality audio with an “unlimited” number of devices, and now, Samsung says it’s bringing Auracast to its Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and its newest Neo QLED 8K and MicroLED TVs with a rollout starting in September. The company doesn’t say if this means an unlimited number of Galaxy Buds can connect to the TVs, but it will certainly be more than the current limit of two.
Samsung reminds you in a footnote in its announcement that range and physical interference will still be factors in determining how many earbuds can connect to the TV — it’s still wireless data transmission, after all.
Bluetooth LE Audio, which is the standard that enables Auracast, was introduced last year, bringing with it a promising future for Bluetooth that uses the new LC3 codec to, according to the Bluetooth SIG, transmit much higher-quality audio at the same bit rate that’s offered by the older SBC codec.
Earlier this year, Samsung used LE Audio to fuel a new feature allowing you to record binaural audio for videos you shoot with modern Galaxy phones. In other words, when you start recording a video on your Galaxy Z Fold 4 or Galaxy S23, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro can automatically begin recording with the mics on both sides of your head, creating a 360-degree sound stage for your videos.
LE Audio also enables a much more passive Bluetooth-connecting experience that’s akin to connecting to a Wi-Fi network than the current method of putting two devices into pairing mode and needing to carry out an action on the broadcasting device to complete the connection. QR codes or NFC could also potentially be used. What this means for users is they could, for instance, walk into a gym or a public space where an Auracast broadcast is in progress, join it, and listen to music or announcements on their Bluetooth headphones, assuming they support the feature.
Samsung didn’t specify which method it will use for connecting multiple Bluetooth headphones.
