Some like to point at how long it takes for major versions of Android to roll out as a fragmentation issue. While that is definitely something that needs to be worked on, a lot of new features can come from Google Play Services updates. These new updates are rolled out via the Play Store and quickly reach the majority of active devices on the market. Today, Google has announced a new Google Play Services feature called Fast Pair that will be added to Android 6.0+ devices running version 11.7 or higher of Google Play Services.

Bluetooth pairing can be a hassle for some people but thankfully it doesn't need to be done frequently. Still, opening up that new pair of headphones or needing to switch from one device to another can be much more inconvenient than just plugging in a 3.5mm headphone jack. To make this process faster and easier, Google has just announced the Fast Pair feature that enables discovery and pairing of compatible devices with ease for those running Android 6.0+ with the latest version of Google Play Services.

Fast Pair

I say compatible devices because this feature is currently only possible with the Google Pixel Buds or Libratone's Q Adapt On-Ear headphones at this time. Soon, you'll also be able to achieve this with the Plantronics Voyager 8200 series wireless headsets though but as we can see the device selection is rather limited. Fast Pair uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to advertise and discover compatible devices and then pairs them the traditional way.

The compatible headset needs to be in close proximity to the smartphone or tablet you wish to pair it with. Then you'll receive a Nearby notification as shown in the image above. Simply tap on that notification and you'll see that transition to a pairing notification which will then go away once it has been paired successfully.

Source: Android Developer's Blog