Sony's new flagship headphones automatically use your Pixel's Bluetooth LE Audio
TL;DR Sony's new WH-1000XM6 headphones will use Bluetooth LE Audio by default on Pixel phones with Android 16, no manual activation needed.
This is because Google added them to an LE Audio 'allowlist' after testing, unlike most devices where the feature is experimental.
Other devices like Samsung's Galaxy Buds 2 Pro & Sony's WF-1000XM5 are also on this list, ensuring automatic LE Audio use.
Sony makes some of the best headphones you can buy right now, regardless of whether you're an Android or an Apple user. This week, Sony unveiled the WH-1000XM6, its latest flagship headphones with a significantly faster QN3 processor, improved ANC, superior voice call quality, and other upgrades over its predecessor. Similar to last year's model, the WH-1000XM6 supports LE Audio. However, a small difference is that Pixel phone users will find LE Audio enabled by default, eliminating the need for manual activation.
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With the release of Android 13 in 2022, Google introduced support for Bluetooth LE Audio, a new standard enabling audio streaming over a Bluetooth Low Energy connection. Despite a growing number of LE Audio-compatible products on the market, Android still doesn't utilize this standard by default. Instead, users must manually enable LE Audio for each device by navigating to its Bluetooth details page and toggling the 'LE Audio' option.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
The reason LE Audio requires manual activation lies in its 'experimental' status in Android, as indicated in the toggle's description. This means Google cannot assure users that enabling the feature will be entirely bug-free or stable. Additionally, feature parity with traditional Bluetooth Classic isn't guaranteed; for example, Android only introduced support for spatial audio over Bluetooth LE Audio in its 2024 release.
However, Android does enable LE Audio by default for a select list of audio products. For these devices, Google has personally tested and verified full LE Audio compatibility, meaning the feature is not considered 'experimental.' Consequently, the 'experimental' tag is absent from their Bluetooth device details page.
Initially, this list featured only the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. It later expanded to include the Sony WF-1000XM5 in late June 2024 and the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro in late November 2024. With the latest Android 16 beta, Sony's new WH-1000XM6 headphones also join this list. This means that when connected to a Pixel phone running Android 16, the WH-1000XM6 will automatically use Bluetooth LE Audio by default.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
The Bluetooth device details page on a Pixel 9 when the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro is connected.
Android 16 Beta 4 was released nearly a month ago, meaning the WH-1000XM6 was technically part of Android's LE Audio allowlist even before its official unveiling this week. This isn't particularly surprising, as Sony likely provided Google with pre-release hardware to test the headphones' compatibility with Android features such as LE Audio and Fast Pair. With the WH-1000XM6 now joining this curated list, Pixel phones will automatically use LE Audio by default with the following audio products: SM-R510 (Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro)
SM-R630 (Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro)
WF-1000XM5
WH-1000XM6
G2 (unknown)
AG2 (unknown)
For other LE Audio-compatible products not on the official allowlist, users must still manually activate the feature via the Bluetooth device details page. However, a developer option provides a workaround to use LE Audio by default, even if a specific device isn't on Google's pre-approved list. To do this, navigate to Settings > System > Developer options and toggle 'Bypass Bluetooth LE Audio Allowlist.' Once enabled, Android will attempt to use LE Audio with any connected audio product that supports the standard.
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