It’s been a few years since the official debut of Bluetooth technology Auracast, which allows devices like earbuds, headphones, speakers and hearing aids to connect to the same source without the need for pairing. Just like a radio picks up your local radio stations, all you have to do is connect to the right broadcast. These could be the flight announcements from your gate at the airport, the microphone the teacher is using during a presentation, or the TV you’re watching on the treadmill at the gym.
By letting you link directly to one of these broadcasts, Auracast can increase auditory accessibility for those who are hard of hearing, or can easily pick up relevant information from a noisy environment. Auracast is available today, but many tech companies don’t support it yet, and others barely talk about it – even when it’s in their products.
Every year since 2023, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) has shown off Auracast’s capabilities at invite-only meetings at CES. But then the news subsides, the journalists move on, and life in the audio world continues for another 11 months, after which the cycle continues. There has been a flurry of announcements recently, with Sony adding audio sharing support to its XM5 and XM6 headphones, which use Auracast, with Google also adding support to recent phones from Samsung and OnePlus. But you’d be forgiven for forgetting them.
JBL is one of the few companies that consistently promotes the AuraCast capabilities of its compatible products – so much so that some people are under the impression that AuraCast is a JBL-exclusive technology (in fact, one of my colleagues thought so). This is included in JBL’s Bluetooth speakers like the Charge 6, Clip 5, and PartyBox Stage 320, as well as headphones like the Tour One M3, which also include a separate AuraCast audio transmitter for sharing with nearby compatible headphones.
But as an early adopter, JBL faced some problems. “Integrating AuraCast into our products presented many technical challenges, particularly because we were committed to supporting it on multiple platforms during its early development phase,” says Sharon Peng, SVP of global engineering at JBL. “While the Bluetooth SIG offered a basic framework, they did not cover all the nuances needed for robust implementation. Early adopters like JBL had to deal with some degree of ambiguity, but the Bluetooth SIG has since introduced more structured compliance and testing protocols.”
This may explain the problems reported by Reddit users, specifically with JBL PartyBox speakers, which can only receive Auracast broadcasts from JBL devices. Peng said JBL is aware of the issue and is working to fix it with an OTA firmware update. “In short,” Peng said, “JBL’s AuraCast architecture is designed for compatibility, and we are committed to expanding support across our product lineup to ensure users can enjoy seamless connectivity – whether they are using JBL gear or third-party devices.”
Henry Wong, director of market development at Bluetooth SIG, reiterated Peng’s commitment to interoperability. Wong was also aware of the problems with the JBL Party Speaker Mode. “We are in communication with JBL, and they are actively working to align their products with full AuraCast requirements to ensure broad compatibility and clarity for consumers.”
Not every company that supports Auracast is as vocal about it as JBL. Samsung has supported Auracast in its high-end 8K TVs since 2023, and LG has added support on its 2025-model-year OLED and Quantum Dot LED TVs. Neither company has mentioned Auracast support on product pages. I only discovered that LG had included it when I delved into the C5’s menus when I reviewed the TV in the spring.
In fact, when I wrote about the feature in June, the only online mention of AuraCast support in LG’s TVs was a press release from hearing aid maker Starkey. LG didn’t have any press releases of its own, and when I asked about the feature it directed me to Starkey. But limiting announcements primarily to the hearing aid community, important though it is, means that the public at large isn’t even aware of this important capability they already have in or on their ears. Using Auracast with your TV allows each person to set the volume for their individual needs, or boost the frequencies for clearer dialogue. But beyond hearing access, Auracast easily lets multiple people watch something with headphones late at night without waking up family or disturbing neighbors.
LG informed me that although AuraCast is not a major feature in its current marketing efforts, it is listed in the specifications on the LG website (though at the time of publishing, I have yet to find mention of AuraCast on LG TV product pages). And while the company expressed its support for the technology, it also noted that AuraCast’s relevance to TV buyers is still emerging.
LG is already promoting AuraCast on its Xboom line of speakers and earbuds, but the implication is that the unknown relevance to TV buyers is outweighing the broader marketing push. But why thrift? When talking broadly about the industry, Peng may have an answer. “There was also a degree of hesitation in the industry, which is typical with emerging technologies. Manufacturers often assess the risks of investing in features that have not yet been widely adopted or standardized.”
However, Auracast is already present in earbuds and headphones, and not just in expensive headphones from JBL or Sony. EarFun earbuds — which cost less than $100 — are included, and according to marketing manager Helen Shaw, the company’s design team spent months troubleshooting compatibility issues to make it work. And since EarFun uses Qualcomm chips in its earbuds, Qualcomm helped solve some of those issues. But the experimentation and determination of a small company like EarFun shows that Auracast integration doesn’t require a big company with huge resources to invest in its future.
Where some investment is needed is in infrastructure – in the form of transmitters and staff training – in places where Auracast can be most useful. But that adoption hasn’t been fast. Venues including the Sydney Opera House have started to add Auracast support for performances, as have some universities and churches, but it will require wider knowledge and wider availability in headphones, earbuds and hearing aids before we see it regularly and it will begin to benefit those who need access in their daily lives.
That’s why the lack of more extensive marketing is disappointing, especially when it comes to its potential uses in the home. The technology is already in many people’s ears, and probably even in their TVs. There are also transmitters available for under $100 to add Auracast connectivity to a source you already have. If more people knew about Auracast, more people would be interested in it, and places could start implementing it.
But do companies even care about educating consumers? Auracast, as mentioned, is a brand-agnostic technology. But there is a strong trend for companies to build walled gardens. TCL has started to do this with the release of the Z100 Dolby Flex Connect speaker, which requires 2025 TCL QM series TVs to be installed. This is not a restriction on Dolby Flex Connect technology. And of course Apple is incredibly successful using this strategy – like I set my iPhone up while holding my AirPods in front of me and type on my MacBook with my iPad on the coffee table. Imagine how quickly adoption would take place if Apple made Auracast one of the most easily recognized headphones and earbuds in the world. However, so far, there has been no news from Cupertino mentioning Auracast or any future Apple implementation. (I’ve contacted Apple for a statement but have not yet received a response.)
Still, all the companies I spoke to have great optimism and commitment to Auracast. Each made sure to highlight the importance and potential of Auracast. According to Bluetooth SIG’s Wong, “Auracast is gaining strong momentum across the broadcast audio industry. We’re seeing growing acceptance from device manufacturers, increasing deployment in public spaces around the world, and enthusiastic support from advocacy groups and influencers.”
When (if?) Auracast becomes widely available and supported, the benefits of accessibility will be huge. Families watching TV together will be able to optimize their dialogue intelligibility to enjoy the content equally. It will be easier to hear travel updates at your gate or announcements for your next train stop. Students won’t have to strain to listen to the lecturer, and we’ll be able to share our music or podcasts more easily. But before we care about that, there’s all we need to know about Auracast, and much of the onus falls on the manufacturers who support it.
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