• LibrePods improves the AirPods experience on Android
• The app is now available on the Google Play Store
• Use features like Conversational Awareness on selected phones

While AirPods have always worked with Android — they're essentially Bluetooth earbuds, at their core — users with Google-powered phones and tablets haven't been able to enjoy the full AirPods experience. That's now changing with a new update to an open-source app called LibrePods.

LibrePods has been around for a while, but previously required a jailbroken Android device to work properly. As Android Authority reports, LibrePods just became available on the Google Play Store, so anyone can make use of it — no jailbreak needed.

This has been made possible by a bug fix pushed out with the Android 16 QPR3 update, also known as the March Pixel Drop if you're using a Google Pixel phone. As LibrePods developer Kavish Devar explains, this opened up more Bluetooth functionality.

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It means you get access to features like more precise battery level reporting, immediate ear detection, the ability to change listening modes, and Conversational Awareness (which lowers the AirPods volume when you're chatting to someone.

Going Ultra?

As this updated Bluetooth functionality has only just been added to Android, it's going to take a while to reach all phones and tablets. Right now, it should work with Google Pixel, OnePlus, and Oppo phones updated to the latest software versions.

In the future, the improved Bluetooth features should be kept in Android 17, which will be One UI 9 on Samsung phones. Over the next few months, LibrePods should become compatible with more and more handsets as these updates roll out.

Once you've got LibrePods installed on a compatible phone, you'll find a host of options available in the menus — including the option to set up head gesture controls (provided you've got a pair of AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, or AirPods Pro 3).

If you're an Android user, your choice in terms of the best headphones and best wireless earbuds just got bigger, and could expand further soon. There are rumors from Macworld that Apple is planning to introduce some AirPods Ultra headphones in the near future, while also applying the 'Ultra' branding to other high-profile products.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.