Preliminary information
Before getting to the heart of the tutorial, going to provide all the necessary information on how to use AirPods on Android, there are some preliminary information in this regard it is my duty to provide you.
Let's start from a fixed point: the AirPods, both those of first generation that of second generation and the Pro model, are earphones designed primarily for the Apple devices. In fact, thanks to a special chip they are equipped with (H1), they are immediately recognized by iPhone e iPad when the case is opened and automatically come into operation when worn, as long as Bluetooth is enabled and the devices are close to each other, as I explained to you in detail in my tutorial on the subject.
Once the AirPods have been recognized by the iPhone or iPad, they become immediately usable on all other devices associated with the same Apple ID, without having to repeat the steps above. Excluding the Apple ID speech, to make the association directly on Mac, a different procedure must be put into practice, which is not as immediate but still quite simple: you must select the AirPods from the list of Bluetooth devices in the macOS settings.
That said, although there are practical advantages in using the AirPods with the devices of the "bitten apple", it is still possible to pair the earphones with a smartphone or tablet. Android or even any other device with Bluetooth support. Similarly to what happens on Mac, just select the device in the list of Bluetooth peripherals and that's it, as I will also explain to you in the next step of the tutorial.
However, it should be borne in mind that on Android the functions available for the AirPods are only the basic ones (as I will also explain in the central part of the post): in order to take advantage of the advanced features, so to speak, such as the ability to check the battery charge status of the earphones, it is necessary resort to the use of some third-party app, which you find reported in the final chapter of this guide.
How to connect AirPods on Android
Having made the necessary clarifications above, let's get to the real heart of the matter and let's find out, therefore, how to use the AirPods on Android.
To begin with, you need to enable the Bluetooth on your smartphone or tablet, if you have not already done so: to do so, take the latter, unlock it, access the home screen or drawer and select the icon of the Settings (Quella a forma di ruota d'ingranaggio). Then, tap on the wording Connections, so on that Bluetooth e carries his ON the appropriate switch.
As an alternative to how I indicated earlier, you can enable Bluetooth on your Android device using the Notification Center. So, call up the latter by swiping from top to bottom on the screen and, in the menu that is shown to you, select thebluetooth icon (Quella with the stylized "B"), so that from gray you become Coloured.
At this point, you are ready to proceed with pairing the AirPods to your device. So, take the homes of the Apple earphones, open it and hold the configuration button present on the back, until thestatus indicator light does not start at blinking white.
Successively, recati nella sezione Settings> Connections> Bluetooth of Android and select the name of the AirPods from the list of available devices in the list. After doing this, you can finally start using the earphones.
Note that some of the Android settings items I have described to you in this step may differ slightly from what you see on the screen. This depends on the make and model of your device, as well as the version of Android you are using. For your knowledge, I used a Samsung Galaxy S6 updated to Android 7.0.
How AirPods work on Android
Once you've connected the Apple earphones to your device, you can start using AirPods on Android in the true sense of the term. I'll explain immediately how to do it.
For a start, you can decide whether to enable the earphones for audio calls and for multimedia content playback or just for one of the two functions. To do this, all you have to do is take your device, unlock it, go to the home screen or the Android drawer, select the icon of Settings (Quella with the ruota d'ingranaggio), touch the item Connectionswho quills Bluetooth and tap on the icon in the shape of ruota d'ingranaggio that you find next to the name of the AirPods.
After completing the above steps, move up ON or on OFF the switches you find next to the items Audio call e Multimedia audio, present in the section Use for, based on your needs and preferences.
In addition to what I have just indicated, on some devices you can choose what to use the AirPods for using the Notification Center. So, invoke the latter by swiping from the top to the bottom of the screen and select the option for manage audio output.
For the rest, you can adjust the volume of the AirPods via the buttons Volume (+) e Volume (-) placed directly on the body of the smartphone or tablet (usually on the right or left side) or by opening the section Settings Android, by selecting the item Sounds and vibrationwhy are you cheating? Volume and moving i cursors placed on the appropriate adjustment bars.
I also point out that with the touch on the AirPods (in the case of the first and second generation model) or by pressing theouter end earphones (in the case of AirPods Pro), you can start the audio playback (of the default media player or that of the foreground app) and stop it e answer / hang up phone calls. To call up theGoogle voice assistantinstead, just say the sentence "Ok Google".
If, on the other hand, you are interested in understanding how to rename the AirPods, you can do it by going to the section Settings> Connections> Bluetooth of Android, by tapping on the icon in the shape of ruota d'ingranaggio that you find next to the device name, selecting the item Rhinomine placed at the top and typing the new name of the AirPods in the appropriate field.
Should you deem it necessary, you can also decide to disconnect the earphones from your device. To do this, select the item Dissociate from the screen above and that's it.
Even then, keep in mind that some of the Android settings items I have pointed out to you in this step may differ slightly from what you see on the screen, depending on the device and version of Android you are using.
App to use AirPods on Android
As I told you, some more advanced features are, by default, not available on AirPods when connected to Android. However, this does not mean that it is not possible to use them anyway. To do this, in fact, it is sufficient to resort to the use of some third-party app available on Play Store. Below you will find those that, in my humble opinion, represent the best in the category.
- AirBattery - app thanks to which it is possible to view the charge level of the AirPods and which allows you to set the automatic pause during playback when the earphones are removed from the ears. In addition, the application opens automatically once the connection with the earphones is established. It's free, but offers in-app purchases (at a cost of 1,19 euros) to unlock other extra features.
- Assistant Trigger - it is an application through which you can view a retractable box with the charge level of the AirPods and the case, take advantage of the double tap to activate the Google voice assistant, pause and automatically resume music by wearing and removing the earphones etc. It's free, but offers in-app purchases (at a cost of € 2,19) to unlock additional features.
- MaterialPods - free app that allows you to view the charge level of the AirPods on Android, through widgets, notifications and through a special retractable window, respecting the Material design, as you can guess from the name itself. Note that it offers in-app purchases (at the base cost of € 1,49) to unlock additional features.
- AirDroid - thanks to this app it is possible to view the charge level of the AirPods and of the relative case, through a special popup that appears on the smartphone or tablet display, through the appropriate widget and in the Notification Center. It is completely free.
