The Google Fast Pair technology, which enables quick connectivity between Bluetooth devices and Android phones, is coming to larger displays.
In its CES 2024 announcements post, Google said beyond Android phones, tablets and (more recently) Chromebooks, Fast Pair is coming to Google TV devices. It’ll start with the Chromecast with Google TV streaming device and expand to televisions running the Google TV operating system.
The connectivity will work in much the same was at is does when connecting a pair of Pixel Buds Pro to a Pixel 8 Pro smartphone.
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“After putting your accessory in pairing mode, it’s just a tap to connect your compatible headphones or speakers and start enjoying your favourite movies and shows — even if your partner is reading a book next to you,” Google says in a blog post.
“And with audio output controls, you can easily switch back to your default TV audio at any time. Give it a try and see why people have made over 660 million Fast Pair pairings to date.”
Google is also expanding the Nearby Share technology via a collaboration with Samsung’s similar Quick Share tech. The merging of the two technologies will continue under the Quick Share branding across Android devices.
“This means with a simple tap of the new Quick Share icon, you can see a list of available devices close by,” the blog post explains. “You remain in control of your privacy, and can choose in your phone’s settings who can discover your device and send files, whether it’s everyone, only your contacts or just your own devices. Quick Share will start rolling out to current Nearby Share enabled devices next month.”
Elsewhere, Google is announcing more television sets will support Matter and hence act as hubs for Google Home – not just Google TV and Android TVs, but LG TVs too.
“So if you have a Nest Hub, Nest Mini or compatible TV, it’s easy to add Matter devices to your home network and locally control them with the Google Home app,” Google adds in the blog post.
