Want to watch a movie with your family or friends, but still allow each person to use their own audio device? Microsoft is previewing a new feature that will allow Windows 11 users to share audio over Bluetooth LE. The audio sharing feature should support any headphones, speakers and hearing aids with Bluetooth LE compatibility, and it will allow you to share the same audio stream with two sources at once.
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“Built on top of Bluetooth LE Audio broadcast technology, shared audio lets your supported Windows 11 PC transmit an audio stream to two Bluetooth audio accessories at the same time,” Microsoft said in a blog post. “Shared audio lets students share music with a friend while studying or brings family members closer by watching a movie together on an airplane.”
Bluetooth LE refers to Bluetooth Low Energy, which uses significantly less power than traditional Bluetooth.
The Windows Preview Insider Build will let users connect two Bluetooth devices at once.
Insiders will receive a new shared audio preview tile in Windows Quick Settings, enabling the feature. You can then connect your Bluetooth device and add a second one. The PC will transmit audio to both devices once they are connected.
Microsoft is rolling out the update for supported Surface Laptop and Surface Pro devices starting Monday, and it will roll out to other devices in the coming weeks.
You can check the settings to determine whether your Bluetooth device is compatible with Bluetooth LE, which will enable audio sharing.
Your Bluetooth device must support Bluetooth LE to use the feature. Fortunately, most of the best headphones on the market today do, which will make the transition easier if you already own top-tier Bluetooth headphones. The only downside is that headsets with a microphone won’t be able to transmit audio while in shared audio mode, so you’ll still need another microphone for those Zoom calls.
Doing more with Bluetooth LE
The preview comes amid a larger push from Microsoft to bolster its Bluetooth audio offerings. Part of that included a super-wideband stereo profile for gamers, which uses better audio compression and a higher sample rate to improve audio quality over Bluetooth LE while allowing you to keep using your microphones. Microsoft has also recently rolled out spatial audio support over Bluetooth in Teams, which will add some new functionality for your favorite work-from-home headphones.
Bluetooth LE has been a hot topic for operating system updates over the last couple of years, and Microsoft’s preview will bring Windows 11 back into parity with its competitors. Android users received shared audio over Bluetooth LE earlier this year, while Apple users have had the feature on iPhones and iPads for a few years. MacOS also has the feature.
When asked for further details, Microsoft referred back to its blog post.
