Google TV is adding a faster way to switch to and from Bluetooth headphones

Ben Schoon | Jan 13 2024 - 6:15 am PT

At CES 2024 Google announced that, finally, Fast Pair is coming to Google TV next month, but the company didn’t mention that a new audio switcher is also coming to the platform for swapping between headphones and speakers.

Nearly all Android TV and Google TV devices support the ability to stream audio to Bluetooth headphones, but depending on your device, that can be frustrating.

For instance, on the TCL TV I use in my bedroom, the “automatic” switching for audio doesn’t change over when I pair Bluetooth headphones, so I have to dive into several layers of settings to switch which audio output is being used. It’s pretty annoying when I just want to connect my headphones in the evening.

Soon, Google TV will fix that with a super easy audio switcher.

Built into the Quick Settings on Google TV, this new audio switcher will let users swap between Bluetooth headphones and their TV speakers (and presumably other sources) without diving into the full Settings menu or even fully stopping the content they’re watching. The demo we saw at CES 2024 was quick and easy to access and, really, it’s a little crazy that the option doesn’t already exist.

What’s unclear for now is where this new switcher will be available.

Google’s demo was on a TCL QM8, but presumably, the same will be made available to other TV brands in the future. We’d also assume that this will be made available through updates to existing Google TV sets as well.