Not being fully immersed in the Apple ecosystem doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy Apple products, at least a little bit. If you have an Android phone and a pair of AirPods, you’re limited in the number of features you can take advantage of natively, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use AirPods at all.
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Using AirPods on an iPhone is the only way to get the full experience. But if you have a pair of AirPods that you want to use with an Android device, such as if they were given to you or you already had them before purchasing a new phone, you can still enjoy the wonderful sound and microphone profile that AirPods have. offer and the excellent noise cancellation of the Pro and Max models. They’re still a solid pair of regular Bluetooth headphones without all the extra features.
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How to pair Apple AirPods with an Android phone
Pairing AirPods with an Android phone is the same as pairing any Bluetooth headset with an Android phone. You won’t be able to use the same pairing features as iOS users, as they rely on the AirPods’ H1 or H2 chip, depending on the model. This means you can’t just open the case next to your phone and have your phone instantly recognize the AirPods, you’ll have to do it the usual Bluetooth pairing way.
To pair AirPods with an Android phone, follow these steps:
- On your phone, go to Settings > Bluetooth
- If you are pairing AirPods or AirPods Pro, open the case and press and hold the settings button on the back of the case until the LED flashes white. If you’re pairing AirPods Max, press and hold the noise control button until the LED flashes white.
- In the Bluetooth menu, you should see the AirPods appear. Tap the name and you should be paired.
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AirPods features on Android are few and far between
What features work on Android?
There are no software features that work with AirPods when connected to an Android device. You can listen to audio on them, use the microphone, use the pre-programmed touch gestures and noise control features, and that’s it. This makes using AirPods with an Android device a pretty bad experience, as they cost a lot due to software features and the proprietary hardware that allows those features to work.
What features don’t work on Android?
Any features that rely on the AirPods’ H1 or H2 chip are not available natively on Android. This includes Spatial Audio, Find My, Siri, Adaptive EQ, automatic ear detection, customizing any controls, ear tip fit test, one-ear listening, and more.
AirPods are specifically designed for use with other Apple products, and as such, the H1 and H2 chips only allow you to use these features with other Apple products, such as iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices. While other pairs of headphones similar to the AirPods may rely on downloadable apps for many of these software functions, Apple relies on compatibility between the hardware built into devices like iPhones to communicate with the AirPods.
While many of these features would be possible to work with Android if Apple decided to create an app that supports them on Android, or if they were included in Android natively, some of them also come down to the specific proprietary hardware that Apple implements. An example of this is the head tracking used to support Spatial Audio, which relies on the ultra-wideband U1 chip in the iPhone 11 and later to determine the position of a person’s head in spatial relation to that phone while using AirPods.
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Third-party apps for AirPods on Android
There are some workarounds for some features that don’t work with AirPods on Android natively, like detailed battery status, and that’s done in the form of third-party apps. These apps are not perfect and depend on the developers who created them to continue working, and are not official or sanctioned by Apple. Use them at your discretion, knowing that they may eventually not work or need updates. These apps primarily work to give you battery status and place a widget for your AirPods on your screen, but the other features you’re missing out on can’t be enjoyed with a third-party app.
A well-reviewed app for this is OpenPods, which is a free and open-source app for AirPods on Android that supports AirPods from 1st generation to Pro 2nd generation, AirPods Max, as well as Beats X, Flex, Solo 3, Studio 3, Powerbeats 3 and Powerbeats Pro. The app allows you to view the battery status of your AirPods and place a widget on your screen for your AirPods. This app is not available on the Play Store and you must download it using a Keynote USA K.
One app that is available on the Play Store is AirBattery, which supports the same models as the app above. It shows you the battery status of your AirPods and their case and also has an experimental ear detection feature, which isn’t perfect but may work for you.
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