Technologies

Stop Switching Devices Manually: Your Guide to Multipoint Bluetooth Audio

When you’re bouncing between your phone and computer, advanced multipoint Bluetooth connections allow you to connect to two or more devices simultaneously.

Jumping between digital devices has become a necessary part of many people’s daily lives, whether you’re keeping up with text alerts or ensuring you don’t miss an important call while in a Zoom meeting on your laptop.

Multipoint Bluetooth was designed to solve the problem of having to disconnect or enter the Bluetooth menu each time you want your headset to connect to a different device. It helps you stay notified of incoming calls, email or messaging notifications, letting you conveniently bounce between personal and professional without interrupting your task.

Introduced in 2010 as part of Bluetooth 4.0, advanced multipoint allows two devices to be connected simultaneously to your audio headset, enabling you to switch between them. For several years, the feature was glitchy, unreliable and not widely supported, particularly for true-wireless earbuds. But that’s changing.

Recent hardware and software advances have vastly improved multipoint’s stability and power consumption, and the feature is now available on many wireless headphones and true-wireless earbuds, including those from Bose, which was slow to adopt the feature due to reliability concerns.

Apple and Google support systems that behave similarly to multipoint — automatic device switching — which swaps source devices when it detects playback on your target device. The caveat is that they are technically fast auto-pairing systems rather than simultaneously connecting two devices, and you must be signed in to the same Apple ID or Google account on both devices for this function to work.

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The advantages and limitations of multipoint Bluetooth

When multiple devices are within the same digital ecosystem — Apple, Samsung or Google — and you’re signed into the same account on them, you get smoother (and often automatic) switching, whether it’s via Apple’s Handoff, Google’s Fast Pair or actual multipoint Bluetooth.

If, for example, you’re swapping between your Apple iPad and your Android smartphone, you’ll usually have to pause one device manually (semi-automatic switching) before audio will switch over, though you still get the benefit of not having to do the Bluetooth disconnect/connect mambo.

Multipoint is not a universal feature, and its performance can vary depending on the specific model. Multipoint Bluetooth was (and still is) easier to implement on standard wireless headphones because the earcups are connected via a single main Bluetooth connection. True-wireless earbuds are more complex since the left and right earbuds have to be wirelessly synced while avoiding interference issues, and a third wireless channel (and more processing power) is required for multipoint pairing.

Note that multipoint Bluetooth doesn’t mean you can stream media from two devices simultaneously to the headphones. There are gaming headsets that support multiple simultaneous streams, but they use two distinct wireless connections — one by Bluetooth and one via 2.4GHz wireless — such as the HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 and Audeze Penrose. There are also models that can handle simultaneous sources by using wired and wireless connections.

Setting up multipoint Bluetooth

Update device firmware: Your phone, tablet and laptop should always be up to date, but it’s best to double-check to ensure your operating system supports the latest features.

Install the app: Download and install the companion app for your headphones or earbuds on your primary device, typically your phone, unless you use your tablet primarily for calls.

Pair with your primary device: Put the headphones or earbuds in pairing mode (usually by long-pressing a button on the headphones or case), and pair them with your phone or tablet using the device’s Bluetooth settings.

Update headphone firmware: Companies continually improve switching and connection reliability through firmware updates. To keep your headphones or earbuds current, update them via the app’s settings menu. Re-pair if necessary, and test the connection by streaming some audio.

Enable multipoint connection: Open the companion app settings again and enable your connection with a toggle switch labeled something like:

Allow multipoint connection
Connect to two devices simultaneously
Pair with a second device
Auto Switch

Pair with the second device: Put the headphones back in pairing mode and use the second device’s Bluetooth settings to pair them. Test the connection by streaming some audio.

What to expect from multipoint Bluetooth

At this point, you should be able to switch easily from one device to the other (and back) by starting a stream on the second device — or pausing the first one if your devices are from different operating systems (iOS and Android, for example). Note that due to Bluetooth bandwidth constraints, you may not be able to use certain «high-resolution» audio codecs like Sony’s LDAC while in multipoint mode.

It’s a good idea to test a few different scenarios with a mix of calls and media to see how things work with your particular mix of devices and apps. Even if all your gear is from the same ecosystem, you’re somewhat at the mercy of the apps you’re using and how they’re prioritized by the devices’ operating systems, as well as how they handle switching.

But if all goes well, you’ll be able to move more seamlessly between your digital devices than ever before, and you’ll wonder how you ever got along without multipoint Bluetooth.

Technologies

Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance

Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.

Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.

The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.

Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.

Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.

Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.

The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»

Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.

Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.

At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.

Technologies

OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report

OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.

OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.

‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.

The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.

Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.

This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.

Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

Technologies

OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift

OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.

Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.

‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.

Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.

‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’

A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.

Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’

On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.

OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.

In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.

Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.

The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know