What you need to know
- Headphones with Fast Pair will be getting some new features later this year.
- Truly wireless headphones will have the ability to display battery levels for each individual bud and the case.
- Fast Pair devices will also gain support for Find My Device.
With more and more phones dropping the headphone jack in favor of Bluetooth, it's more important than ever to make pairing and managing your wireless headphones more convenient. To that end, Google's Fast Pair technology has simplified pairing your Bluetooth headphones on Android phones.
When using Fast Pair, after you put a pair of Bluetooth headphones into pairing mode, a notification will pop up on your phone allowing you to instantly pair them. This cuts down on the steps required to get your headphones connected significantly, and helps you get to enjoying your music even quicker and easier than ever.
The Fast Pair team is still working on new features as headphones continue to evolve. The next generation of Bluetooth headphones are Truly Wireless Stereo, and later this year, headsets with Fast Pair are getting some new features.
The first big feature is more detailed battery information. Specifically, Fast Pair will show the battery levels for each individual earbud as well as the case with truly wireless buds. While Android previously added the ability to view the battery life of your Bluetooth headphones, TWS headsets have only had very basic info, despite having three different battery levels to monitor. Later this year, that will all change, and you'll even be able to see a notification pop up with the battery info when you open or close the case.
Fast Pair devices will also soon be supported by Find My Device, making it easier than ever to locate your lost headphones. Users will have the ability to view the last location and time of use, unpair the buds, or ring to locate them. If you've ever lost a pair of headphones before, you know anything to make finding these little wireless buds easier is welcomed.
Finally, there will be a new detailed device info page for Fast Pair devices. From this page, you will be able to manage your headphones with access to key settings, and there will be a shortcut to open the companion app if one is available.
All of this is great news, except for the fact that all of this will only work for Fast Pair devices. Even in 2019, there are very few of them. If you're in the market for a pair, a couple of our favorites are the Bose QuietComfort 35 II for over-ear and for working out the Jaybird Tarah. Hopefully, in the future, more manufacturers will add support for this great feature which just keeps getting better.
