Do you always need to take out your phone while walking or running to play music on your Bluetooth headphones or do you need to pair it manually with your Bluetooth speakers while hosting a party
Starting from 2021, most of the Android and iOS phones have the automations to pair your phone and play music on the Bluetooth devices automatically and you don't need to perform the below actions for it.
No need to look at your phone to unlock it and then touch it.
No need to open the music app and then select the song to play on your Bluetooth device.
You can use Samsung Bixby routines on your Samsung phones or Shortcuts on the Apple phones to perform these automations.
I am going to provide you the step by step guide to let your Apple or Samsung phones play music on any music app (including Spotify) automatically when connected with Bluetooth devices.
In this article:
Play music using Bixby On Samsung phones
Samsung Bixby is the most advanced virtual assistant ever on any Android phone
The Bixby routines are based on the If (conditions) and Then (Actions) algorithms.
1. Access the Bixby routines
Go to the Advanced features of your Samsung phone settings
2. Select Bluetooth device in If condition
Click On Add routine, in the next screen click on the If box and then click on Bluetooth device as shown below.
Select the Connected and click on Device to select the Bluetooth device from the paired list of Bluetooth devices on your phone.
Click on Done and it will save the Bluetooth device in If condition.
3. Add actions for Bixby routine
Click on Then
Select Music icon
Play music option let you select one of the music apps on your phone ( for example Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Samsung Music) as the default app to play songs.
Spotify playlists let you select your favourite Spotify playlist which will play on your Bluetooth headphones directly.
4. Finalize the Bixby routine
Click on Next and give this routine a name and click on Done.
Now just take out your Bluetooth earbuds from the case or switch on your Bluetooth headphones, Bixby will automatically start playing music on them through this Bixby routine.
Do you know that Samsung phones can play music on 2 Bluetooth devices simultaneously with Samsung Dual Audio feature, so party louder by playing music on 2 Bluetooth speakers.
READ MORE:
Play music using Shortcuts on Apple iPhone
The Apple Shortcuts automations are based on the When (conditions) and Do (Actions) algorithms.
1. Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone
Click on Automation as shown below
2. Select Bluetooth device in When condition
Click on Bluetooth in When Condition.
Select your Bluetooth Device (for example I have selected Apple AirPods Pro)
3. Select the actions
In the Actions screen, select Media
Then in the Music section of next screen, click on Play Music
4. Finalize the shortcut
Your automation will look like below in Shortcuts once configured, click on Done.
All set, as soon as your Bluetooth headphones are connected to the iPhone, you will get the notification to run the shortcut. Select run and you will see the music starts playing.
Apple Shortcuts compared to Samsung Bixby for this Automation:
Apple Shortcuts do not have Spotify integration so you only have the option of the music playing from Apple Music on for this automation , which means you will need to have Apple Music Subscription.
Shortcuts do not start the automation automatically once your Bluetooth device is connected, it give you a pop up to run it manually so you still have to unlock your iPhone and click on Run , while Samsung Bixby does it totally hands free.
Further recommendations for the Bixby routines
You can configure various playlists for your different Bluetooth devices depending on their usage with this automation. Bixby routines does it flawlessly for me as it has the advantage of the integration with the Spotify playlists.
Workout routine:
I have created a Bixby routine called Workout which plays the Spotify workout playlist on my Bluetooth earbuds Jabra Elite Active 75t as soon as I put them in my ears.
House party:
You can create a routine for your home Bluetooth soundbar or portable speaker which can play a specific playlist for you. For example, I have selected Spotify playlist Top 50 - Global to play on my JBL speakers as soon as they are switched on.
You can explore further Bixby automations in the articles below and save your time, data and keep yourself on track.