Settings on your phone
Most phones today allow dual audio (on Android) and audio sharing (on iPhone) capabilities i.e. the ability to play audio out of two devices at the same time. iPhone 8 models and above support Audio sharing feature, so unless you have a very old handset, chances are that your phone should offer that natively. The first step then would be to try connecting your headphones and speakers one by one to your Bluetooth when you pair them for the first time.
Similarly, if you have a Samsung Galaxy S8 series or later model, then the company natively offers a Dual Audio option that allows users to pair multiple speakers and headphones. This can be found in Bluetooth Settings. Other users can try this method, provided they have the right equipment at hand:
- Android users need to go to Bluetooth Settings and pair either Bluetooth headphones or speakers one by one.
- Once connected, tap the three-dot icon on the right and click on Advanced Settings. Toggle on the ‘dual audio’ option if not already turned on. This should enable users to connect to two devices at once.
- For users running on Android 10 and above, they can access their connected Bluetooth devices by clicking on Media in the Quick Panel and selecting both the paired devices for audio output.
- iPhone users need to go to Control Center. Tap on Airplay icon and select either the paired wireless headphones or speakers to output audio simultaneously. Deselecting any one of the headphones or speakers will stop the sharing of audio on that particular device.
App
Another option is to use a mobile app to listen to music on multiple connected devices. The mobile app, AmpMe, is a smartphone audio player that synchronizes audio streams between several smartphones.
Bluetooth Hub or Router
A Bluetooth hub is a device that connects multiple Bluetooth devices. This dedicated or in-built component allows 2 or more peripherals, like headphones and speakers, to simultaneously play the same audio output. This fixes the problem of one-to-one sharing when audio streaming to several devices at once.
This is similar to how we used to connect two wired headsets using a headphone splitter. Remember those days?
Of course, this wireless technology connects more than a Bluetooth speaker or a Bluetooth headset. You can connect multiple Bluetooth devices of varying types at once.
