Pairing Bluetooth devices such as headphones and smartwatches with your Android smartphone can be a laborious process. Fortunately, Google Fast Pair is on hand to help take the pain out of setting up new devices.
What is Google Fast Pair and why is it so useful? Read on to find out more about the Google feature and which devices it’s compatible with.
What is Google Fast Pair?
Google Fast Pair is an always-on feature that makes the Bluetooth pairing process between Android smartphones and accessories much simpler.
It does this by utilising Bluetooth Low Energy on your smartphone to discover nearby Bluetooth devices without draining your phone battery and making the pairing process much more intuitive.
Google Fast Pair was initially launched alongside the launch of the Pixel Buds, back in 2017, as a means of connecting compatible audio devices to your Android smartphone. Since then, Google has expanded its Fast Pair compatibility and can now be used to pair your Android to all sorts of Bluetooth devices, including speakers, car kits, mice, keyboards and more.
What are the other benefits of Google Fast Pair?
Google Fast Pair isn’t just for simplifying the Bluetooth pairing process. It is also embedded in Google Play, meaning it can log paired Bluetooth accessories to your Google account and can detect when your accessory is near another supported device that you own.
Google Fast Pair can also display your paired accessory’s battery level on your device and aid in multipoint audio, which allows headphones to connect to multiple devices. Basically, Google Fast Pair simplifies the sometimes frustrating tasks that come with using Bluetooth accessories.
Which devices support Google Fast Pair?
Since its launch in 2017, Google Fast Pair is now supported by numerous accessories. This includes, but isn’t limited to, Google TV/Android TV products, Chromebooks, Wear OS and Android devices.
You will need to have an Android smartphone that’s running on at least Android 6.0 and a Bluetooth device that supports Fast Pair. From Android 10 onwards, you’ll find more features to make using Google Fast Pair that bit easier, including examining device details, customising accessories’ names and locating connected accessories by pinpointing their last recorded location.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
