How to use Apple AirPods with an Android phone

(pocket-lint) – while the apple watch is still completely tied to iphones and ios only, apple took a different approach with its headphones and made them compatible with anything that has a bluetooth connection. You still get more advanced features like dynamic head tracking, spatial audio, and easy switching between devices if you have apple devices, but you can still use them for their essential function.

so yes, it is possible to use apple airpods or airpods pro with an android phone just like any other pair of bluetooth headphones.

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The pairing process isn’t as visually pleasing or as convenient as using your airpods pro with an iphone, but it’s still simple enough, and once connected, you don’t lose too many features. Or at least, none of the important ones.

Here’s how to connect your Apple AirPods or AirPods Pro to an Android device and what features they offer.

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how to connect apple airpods or airpods pro to your android phone

Connecting Apple AirPods to an Android device works the same way as connecting any device via Bluetooth. To pair them, simply follow the instructions in the video above, or the steps below:

1. open bluetooth settings on your android device.
2. select to pair a new device.
3. open the apple airpods case to enable pairing.
4. when the airpods appear on the screen, touch them and confirm the pairing.
5. if they don’t show up, press and hold the button on the back of the airpods case until the led light between the airpods flashes. this puts the airpods into pairing mode and you can repeat step 4.

once you’ve completed these steps, your airpods should be connected to your chosen device and will continue to connect automatically every time you open the case and put them in your ears.

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what features do apple airpods offer when connected to an android device?

once connected, apple airpods work the same way as other bluetooth headphones. you will get the following functions:

• play and pause control by double tapping an airpod while it’s in your ear
• music and movie audio
• call audio
• any other audio that would normally play through your phone’s speakers

airpods pro has slightly different functionality, but all essential features work:

• play and pause music by pressing airpod pro button once
• jump forward by pressing twice quickly
• jump backward by pressing three times
• press and hold the control to activate/deactivate noise cancellation or ambient listening mode

However, unlike when connected to an iPhone, call audio is not automatically transferred to your phone if you remove the AirPods from your ears. Likewise, the AirPods battery indicator won’t appear on your Android device, so you’ll need to make a mental note of how many hours you’ve been listening so you know when to recharge.

Alternatively, there is an app called Trigger Assistant that you can download from the Google Play Store. This will show the airpods battery on your phone, and will also allow you to double tap an airpod to launch google assistant or bixby. so if you want airpods with your android phone, there is nothing stopping you from using them.

however, it may not be the best option for you. Especially now that more headphones with Google Quick Pairing support are rolling out, including Apple’s own Beats Studio headphones. This means you get one touch quick pairing and a pair of earphones linked to your google account that you can connect to from any other android/chrome device with that account signed in. you might also be tempted by the samsung galaxy buds 2 or nothing ear 1.