Apple AirPods’ best features come to Android and Linux with free app.
You no longer need an iPhone to use AirPods features like ear detection, adaptive transparency, and hearing aid modes.
You no longer need an iPhone to get the most out of AirPods. Apple’s AirPods provide a basic listening experience when paired to non-Apple devices, but the free LibrePods app, developed by Kavish Devar, unlocks features like ear detection, head gestures, and customizations on Android and Linux devices, as spotted by Android Authority.
LibrePods was created by reverse engineering the AirPods’ proprietary protocols, and it works by making the wireless headphones think they’re connected to an Apple device so they share device status info that’s typically only made accessible to Apple’s various operating systems. Other features LibrePods unlock includes conversational awareness that will lower the volume while you’re speaking, switching between noise control modes, accurate battery level info, customizations like accessibility settings and renaming your headphones, hearing aid mode, and multi-device connectivity.
