Bluetooth SIG Promotes First Ever Auracast Experience at MWC 2023 in Barcelona

In 2022, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced the Auracast extension of the Bluetooth LE Audio specifications, combining audio sharing and broadcast audio into a new term that would make it easier to promote. The audio innovation promises to propel audio streaming forward by letting users share their audio or select from publicly available Auracast wireless audio streams. At Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona the technology was demonstrated in a practical manner for the very first time.

Following the publication of the full set of LE Audio specifications by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), the industry is now putting together the building blocks that will enabling bringing products supporting the next generation of Bluetooth audio to market. This article explains what is needed and how to support Auracast broadcast audio, a new Bluetooth capability that enables an audio transmitter to broadcast to an unlimited number of nearby Bluetooth audio receivers.

CEVA announced that its latest RivieraWaves Bluetooth 5.3 IP family now supports Auracast broadcast audio, the new audio sharing standard, based on the Bluetooth LE Audio broadcasting specification, unveiled by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). According to CEVA, Auracast broadcast audio is set to transform the shared audio experience, enabling an unlimited number of Auracast receiver-compliant devices such as TWS earbuds, headphones, hearing aids and wireless speakers to simultaneously receive audio broadcast from one or several Auracast transmitter devices.

At CES 2020, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced the upcoming release of LE Audio, the next generation of Bluetooth audio. Two years on the making, Bluetooth LE Audio will enhance the performance of wireless audio, add support for hearing aids, and introduce Audio Sharing, a new use case with the potential to once again change the way we experience audio and connect with the world around us as Bluetooth did when it cut the cord 20 years ago to create the wireless audio market.