This secret Android 15 feature could finally give you more media control with a Wear OS smartwatch
It looks like Android 15 will bring the ability to control your phone’s media output with Wear OS smartwatches.
In a code deep dive of the Wear OS companion app feature (which grants the Wear OS app a wide range of phone data access, such as access to contacts and calendars) in the Android 15 beta by Android Authority‘s Mishaal Rahman, a mention of “MEDIA_ROUTING_CONTROL”. This new permission reportedly gives the companion app “access to a list of available devices and determines which one to stream or cast audio or video from other apps.”
A somewhat vague description, Android Authority noted that such privileged control rights are granted to the companion app, these also apply to the connected smartwatch. This essentially means that the smartwatch would access a list of available connected devices (presumably devices paired with an accompanying smartphone) to route audio through them to video.
So that reportedly means you can, for example, play music on your phone through connected headphones and then use a Wear OS smartwatch to switch playback to a paired smart speaker without having to use the phone.
This would be useful if you wanted to change the device your audio was playing on (for example, switching from your earbuds to a Bluetooth speaker), but had left your phone in another room or in a bag, or just made some quick wanted to perform actions. gestures on the wrist instead of opening your phone.
In its current form, Wear OS offers some control over media playback directly from a smartwatch and within watch-based apps, but for more control over audio from services like Spotify you’ll need to use the connected phone.
But adding more direct control over media feedback through a Wear OS smartwatch could allow much more to be done with a wearable device worn on the wrist, bypassing the need for someone to carry it in a pocket or bag. diving to take out a connected Android phone. By building out Wear OS functionality and interconnectivity, Google could help strengthen its device ecosystem and the interplay between such devices to deliver an experience closer to Apple’s product and software ecosystem.
It’s not clear whether such functionality will come to all Wear OS devices, or be reserved for certain Google devices like the Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2, or even if it will make it to full release on Android. We’ll likely find out at Google I/O 2024 on May 14, where we expect a good look at what’s next for Android, Wear OS, and other Google software.