Bluetooth technology can be a wonderful thing, especially for those of us who can’t imagine a day without our wireless headphones. While the last few years have brought a series of improvements and new features to the wider world of Bluetooth, one of the most interesting is a feature called Auracast. Integrated with the Bluetooth LE Audio standard (which hit the market in July 2022), Auracast lets you instantly connect a pair of compatible headphones, Bluetooth speaker, phone, or hearing aids to a single shared audio source — no pairing required.
“Wait, isn’t Bluetooth basically based on pairing device A to device B?” Basically, yes, but one of the benefits of Auracast is being able to simply “connect” to a specific Bluetooth source. Imagine you are sitting idly at the airport; bad weather hits, creating a delay for the flight you’re supposed to take and a change of gates. With Auracast-compatible headphones, the airport can broadcast all of this updated information via Bluetooth; all you need to do is connect to the audio transmission.
Unfortunately, device manufacturers aren’t doing the best job of spreading the word about Auracast. JBL and Sennheiser were among the only brands to sing its praises when the feature first dropped, and few other companies have matched that enthusiasm. You may own one or more Auracast devices without even knowing it. Do a quick Google search for your daily driver headphones with “Auracast” at the end of your prompt to find out.
So far, how common are Auracast broadcasts?
While audio manufacturers could do a better job spreading the good word about Auracast, broader adoption could also be facilitated by venues that choose to use the technology. Many airports, train stations, churches, and colleges rely on Auracast to communicate with their customers, as do several movie theaters, arenas, and a few healthcare facilities. Overall, it’s not Auracast’s largest pool of early adopters, but the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has high hopes that other sites will also invest in the technology.
Of course, “investment” is the key word here. Auracast requires public venues to install Bluetooth transmitters and other equipment in order to stream LE Audio media. Generally speaking, Auracast is capable of maintaining distances of over 330 feet without any type of repeater. We were able to find the price for a commercial-grade Auracast transmitter – the VenuCast AirCast – which sells for $350 and has three source inputs: Bluetooth, XLR, and 3.5mm auxiliary.
This specific product is not included with Auracast headphones, but listeners can listen to the broadcasts using their own Auracast headphones or hearing aids. VenuCast also sells a handful of Auracast bundles that come with a transmitter, in addition to several Auracast OLED display modules and headsets. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that Auracast starts to gain momentum, because the more forums that implement it, the more chance the technology has to improve further. (Bluetooth on the moon, anyone?)
