Android 16 will allow to stream audio via Bluetooth without pairing

Google has released the first build of Android 16 for developers, and one of the notable new features is the audio sharing feature, which allows you to stream audio to multiple Bluetooth devices at once. This feature, based on Auracast technology, allows you to connect to devices without first pairing, which greatly simplifies the connection process. However, the feature requires Bluetooth LE-enabled devices, such as modern headphones or speakers, to use.

Audio sharing is available through the settings menu under the “Connected devices” section, where users can activate it and allow others to connect to their device using compatible hardware. Pixel, such as the Pixel 9 and 8 series, and does not work on older Pixel devices.

Google has announced that Android 16 will be released in the second quarter of 2025, a few months earlier than usual. This early release is designed to improve the synchronization of updates within the Google ecosystem and accelerate access to updates for more devices.

Samsung, in turn, will be able to start adapting Android 16 for its One UI 8.0 shell earlier, which will likely allow the release of One UI 8.0 in the third quarter of 2025, rather than the fourth, as usual.

Meanwhile, Samsung is finishing work on One UI 7.0 based on Android 15. This update is expected to be one of the biggest for Galaxy users, despite the delays this year.

Google continues the tradition of naming its Android versions after desserts, and while Android 15 hasn’t yet been fully released on Google Pixel devices, the company is already working on Android 16, codenamed “Baklava.” Interestingly, Google has deviated from its usual alphabetical order of versions this time. If this tradition were followed, Android 16 would have started with the letter “W,” but instead they chose “B” for “Baklava.”

Insiders report that Android 16 Baklava will debut at the Google I/O conference in 2025. Currently, the min_sdk_version field in the Android AOSP codebase is set to Baklava, indicating active development. For Android 15, this value was initially VanillaIceCream, which was later changed to Android 15 as the platform stabilized.

Google traditionally changes the names of desserts after reaching a stable version of the operating system, but the concept of codenames itself remains popular among developers and users, adding an element of fun to technical updates to the Android OS.