Photo: Google
Google’s latest smartphone, the Pixel, has been reported to have Bluetooth connectivity problems with some cars.
The problems involve not being able to “pair” with a vehicle’s multimedia unit, or intermittent connectivity. The latter means that the phone will connect to a car via Bluetooth, and will then disconnect without the user doing anything in particular.
Some users have managed to stream audio, but cannot make calls, while others have difficulty with connecting in the first place, and then the link goes bad.
The situation was first reported when the Android 7.1 operating system was in its preview form, which is tech-industry speak for a “beta” or “developer” version.
The latest operating system designed by Google for mobile devices is called Nougat, but its predecessor, the Marshmallow, used to have problems like these when it first came out.
As you can imagine, this can be extremely upsetting, especially when most users expect seamless connectivity these days. After all, we do live in the 21st Century, and you can connect your refrigerator to the Internet, so making it “pair” with your car seems natural.
The iPhone 7 has been reported to suffer similar issues with some multimedia systems, so this is not something that happens to the latest Android handset.
In the case of the Bluetooth connectivity problems reported by Apple users, they happened with BMW cars, but also with Hyundai and Kia models. The phones were running iOS 10, but the situation happened a few years ago, back when the iPhone 6 was launched with iOS 8.
It is worth noting that Google’s phone is not the only Android device that has suffered from connectivity issues when Bluetooth is concerned, because users have reported similar problems with other Android 7.1 devices.
According to Android Police, Google is already aware of the matter, and the Mountain View giant is already investigating the situation. We expect the problems to be fixed through an update of the Android software, which should come in a few weeks time, if not sooner.
Some users have managed to stream audio, but cannot make calls, while others have difficulty with connecting in the first place, and then the link goes bad.
The situation was first reported when the Android 7.1 operating system was in its preview form, which is tech-industry speak for a “beta” or “developer” version.
The latest operating system designed by Google for mobile devices is called Nougat, but its predecessor, the Marshmallow, used to have problems like these when it first came out.
As you can imagine, this can be extremely upsetting, especially when most users expect seamless connectivity these days. After all, we do live in the 21st Century, and you can connect your refrigerator to the Internet, so making it “pair” with your car seems natural.
The iPhone 7 has been reported to suffer similar issues with some multimedia systems, so this is not something that happens to the latest Android handset.
In the case of the Bluetooth connectivity problems reported by Apple users, they happened with BMW cars, but also with Hyundai and Kia models. The phones were running iOS 10, but the situation happened a few years ago, back when the iPhone 6 was launched with iOS 8.
It is worth noting that Google’s phone is not the only Android device that has suffered from connectivity issues when Bluetooth is concerned, because users have reported similar problems with other Android 7.1 devices.
According to Android Police, Google is already aware of the matter, and the Mountain View giant is already investigating the situation. We expect the problems to be fixed through an update of the Android software, which should come in a few weeks time, if not sooner.
Google News