Following Apple Music’s redesign of its widgets, Beats for Android adds some so you can quickly manage headphones from the home screen, while the accompanying app also gets a “Locate My Beats” feature.
Update 16/4: Version 2.5.5 of Beats for Android has now been rolled out in Google Play with the new widgets and Find My Beats functionality.
The two widgets are functionally identical, with one being taller than the other. You can not manually resize them – they will span the width of your screen while the dark background continues through both device themes.
There is the product name, device image and battery status. The left and right buttons are displayed side by side instead of the case percentage being displayed in the middle.
Original 4/12: The Beats app lets you connect headphones and update them when new firmware becomes available. There are controls to turn the ANC on / off with one push and connect two speakers together.
You already get a notification that lets you quickly see the battery percentage for each component, and that information is now available as a home screen widget on Android. It is analogous to the system’s battery widget on iOS.
Meanwhile, a new “Locate My Beats” feature will note the location when your headphones are disconnected from a paired phone. The last connected GPS coordinates are then displayed using Apple Maps, if you have ever misplaced them. This simple mechanism is intended for and works with all current Beats products.
This comes as Studio Buds in particular already supports Google’s Find My Device app and Fast Pair system, but you can now also use Locate My Beats with them. On iPhone and iPad, Beats products work with the wider Find My Network.
The Beats app is rarely updated with the latest version (2.5.1) from mid-January. This afternoon, Apple has not yet released the new update that adds widgets and Find My Beats.
More about Apple:
FTC: We use revenue-earning auto affiliate links. More.
Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news: