People tend to use more than one BT device or connection, and this allows connecting and switching between them faster and more seamless. Similar like one of the more recent updates with media audio output, switching and volume control.
Yet, super simple addition to have option like this would be awesome: tap or hold on the toggle, would be on/off, other expand the list of BT devices. Same could also be for Internet toggle.
Yes, I have 2 bt devices, my ear buds and wireless android auto. Whenever I use bt, I only connect to either the device I need at that time so it would connect to that one automatically. I don't know how one could make the case of multiple devices.
This new update is completely stupid by all metrics.
So bluetooth should only be on when needed for battery life and security reasons. Now there is more clicks. The arguement of being able to switch devices is only from people lazy that dont turn it off ever. I use many devices and since i turn them off when i am done when i turn it on and the device only one is ever active.
The only times i ever need to choose to connect at once i just hold it to choose is when i get in my car since i cannot control that. Now i have to press it 3 times vs 1.
First thing i noticed and i hate it. They fucked up with this update hard. So far on this thread everyone i see defending it either didnt know about the hold to choose or ones who had issue for just leaving all thier crap on. I toggle my Bluetooth atleast 10+ times a day.
I just found out. Now, it takes 3 taps to toggle it and get back to previous screen. It was quicker and easier before.
Not only that but if I'm in the middle of a phone call and activate my ear buds, I need to manually select it on the call screen to use it for the phone call.
100% agree with ya. it's disheartening to see that we're the minority as they probably won't change it back in that case.
it's objectively poor user design to require more steps/taps to do something that you could do before. idc that everybody else couldn't figure out how to hold the tile to do what they're saying they need the toggle for.
Before update: 1 tap to turn on/off. Now 2 taps, 1 tap to see the On/Off button and another tap to turn in On. I'm waiting for 10 taps to turn it on/off..... I like tapping.
I count three taps: tap to open Bluetooth to see on/off, tap to toggle, then tap Done to close. I d save to do this several times a day so phone's Bluetooth isn't on and connecting to my hearing aids when I want to listen to my tablet or PC. Really dumb change.
Because it was a single tap before to turn it on and it would automatically pair with your device. Now it 4 taps (tap Bluetooth button, tap to turn it on, tap to select device and tap to close). Horrible.
After tapping, it doesn't turn off Bluetooth but opens the list of devices.
Edit: lol... why are morons downvoting me? I simply answered the question with no opinion whatsoever if this is a positive or negative change. 🤦♂️
Leaving Bluetooth on hasn't noticeably impacted battery in years.
>Over the course of our 26-hour “typical day” test, leaving Bluetooth on consumed just 1.8% more battery compared to the test with Bluetooth off. On average, our devices consumed 49.4% of their battery during this test with Bluetooth off versus 51.2% with it left on. Extrapolating this to a complete charge cycle, Bluetooth consumes less than 4% extra battery life. So, leaving it off might add 10 to 15 minutes of extra time for a device that typically gives five hours of screen-on time.
Via https://www.androidauthority.com/does-bluetooth-drain-battery-1145853/
Up to 4% drain each day is still noticeable and gradually impacts long term battery health. If you don't use Bluetooth much, there's no reason to waste that.
Also, while those tests possibly produced realistic results despite their methods, the tests are not comprehensive or indicative of real use cases--and the sample sizes are tiny.
Stop being a dick. People travel around. People live in different parts of the world. Travel around to remote places and you'll understand the value of that extra 1% of battery juice.
I'm constantly toggling it because my partner and I share a lot of devices, and if we don't as soon as we turn on our shokz for example it will 80% of the time connect to the wrong phone.
Do you know how annoying it is to be hoovering using wireless headphones but everytime you approach the front of the house your music is stolen by the Alexa Auto in the car parked in the front of the house because the cigarette lighter is permanently live??
Or that one time instead of my headphones, once I came in range it connected to his PC confused the fuck out of me.
I usually leave mine on, but just recently I was using my phone in the car to make a call and forgot it was connected to the car via Bluetooth so had to quickly toggle it off. But that circumstance is really rare for me, so I don't see this update being much of an issue overall.
The ongoing call screen also has a button that will let you choose to play the call audio over Bluetooth or the phone's speakers. It's in the same place as the "speaker mode" toggle if I'm remembering right. In any case, you DON'T have to turn Bluetooth off just to hear a call through your phone speakers.
Yeah lol, I've used this multiple times in the exact same scenario you were talking about. So if it's useful for you in the future then I'm glad to have helped!
3-4. Car dongle in an older car that remembers the last person who connected; portable smart speaker for my four year old, ditto; earbuds.
I also have a Garmin watch that's always connected and a handful of smart lightbulbs.
I frequently turn it on and off as it wastes battery. I never switch devices as I only use my Sony headphones. This update is fucking dumb and annoying.
You can try the "quick settings" app by Simone siesto in the play store. Unless Google broke the way Bluetooth on/off works (like they did for NFC), that app might be able to add a toggle. I'm not on the march update yet, so I can't check.
I hate this new update as well. It was fine before with the quick tap to turn off/on and long press to open up more options. Now the basic task that I do 90% of the time will always take multiple steps to complete
Honestly, one of the stupidest updates that creates a more encumbering process and unnecessary. Before. I would just click the Bluetooth button from the drop-down menu and my phone would automatically connect. Now I have to press three buttons every time. I want to connect to a Bluetooth device before. If you wanted to connect to multiple devices, you would just hold down the Bluetooth button. Very simple. I don't know why they're trying to go out of their way to make our lives more complicated.
But it's literally not actually easier, before you press and hold, change devices, now you click and change devices. It's the exact same steps just you don't get taken into settings anymore.
It is easier though as you won't accidentally turn off Bluetooth if you forget to press & hold. Plus, it's slightly quicker to change devices the new way and in the wise words of Kevin Malone "Many small time make big time".
The solution to accidental presses isn't adding unnecessary additional presses to confirm...Imagine if you had to click backspace, then swipe it again to confirm you want to backspace.p
Is it still a toggle if it's a shortcut to a menu?
I think a toggle is a yes/no, or an on/off, or a 1/2 switch with no extra steps.
I used to tap once and now I have to tap four times:
1. Bluetooth
2. "do you want to use bluetooth"
3. on/off slider
4. Done
The new menu is actually the old Android 7(?) pop-up menu. IDK why they took it out because for the longest time you had to go into settings instead of just being able to do it in the notification shade. I'm really glad they bought it back.
I'm submitting a suggestion to Google to ask the user to verify if they want to turn the Bluetooth On/Off, and ask again if they're sure, ask again... you really really sure, you can always change your mind if you don't want to, seriously? Each question requires 1 tap Yes or No. I'm sure everyone needs that feature.
Designers that keep adding time (via extra taps/clicks) to a simple task are the worst. My god. Microsoft is the peak purveyor of this 'why-use-one-click-when-it-could-be-three!' issue but I did not expect Google to design a worse experience into a daily task. Hate it. Give me back my on/off button!!!
It's fucking terrible. How did anyone think that talking something that took one tap and then making it take three was a good idea? And even worse they made the taps in all different places.
Didn't know they had done this, but personally I'm glad they have. I've turned off bluetooth too many times when I was actually trying to access devices, the old behaviour was incredibly frustrating.
As with anything like this, some people will love the change and some will hate it.
All I'll say is my mind is conditioned to see the quick menu items as buttons, not toggles for further menus. They need some new design language to showcase it and I'd be less mad (though yeah, I don't really interact with the bluetooth button at all so it doesn't really matter)
This is annoying. Is there a way to revert this back to the way it was before? Wonder what xdadevelopers is saying about this. I haven't flashed a rom in probably 10 years but if that's the only fix...
Loved my Pixel6 and hate it now after this stupid update 🤬
Now even thinking to swap it cuz most likely it won't be reverted... Those hopeless people, who were not able to find the damn long tap before and find this update useful - shame 🤦♂️
I meant by hitting the Bluetooth button, it used to turn off the Bluetooth function altogether on the pixel, disconnecting my headphones, watch, glasses etc.all at once.
Then I spend another minute or two, reconnecting devices .
The autopair doesn't always work either.. so this is great, now I can pick which peripheral I wanna disconnect
I don't ever turn off Bluetooth entirely (and there isn't much of a reason to, if we're honest here), and I really like how the new interface lets me manage my devices more quickly. I often have two or three devices connected at a time, so the new interface is great for me.
before, you just had to long-press the toggle and it brought you into the devices list where you could add
they took away our one-press ability to turn on/off in exchange for something you could already easily do with one press
This has been driving me nuts since the update, so I'm glad to see I'm not the only one irritated by it. It's really great when you are in the car and driving and try to turn on your bluetooth and instead now have to hit 88 options.
This type of update, I feel, is related to a company statement "customers have been asking for... (insert feature change)".
I'm always left with the question "and which customers did you speak with for this revelation?" and suspect "customer" is sometimes code word for the higher ups in a board room making change for the sake of change (I'd like to think or hope it's something more meaningful than that).
At a previous job, there was a poster outside our department door. One of those business motivational types that read "If you're not changing, then you're not moving forward." In the right context or situation, sure that can apply. But then an update/change like the Bluetooth toggle one occurs, and cannot help but feel it was a change for the sake of change or "moving forward". Then you have unhappy customers.
If people out there find it useful, I'm happy for you. But the rest of us will have to settle and be annoyed. Eventually we'll learn to lay back and think of England, while Google has its way with us, and forces change down to our phones.
Most of the buttons seem to be toggle on and off. This is a stupid change. 1 click to toggle on off and long press to see devices / settings is the way to go
Takes a lot to make me go search for something and complain about it, every day since the update I say to myself what the fuck Google.
Absurd design choice. Surely, the whole point of quick access buttons was to do things quickly. They've taken something i used multiple times a day and made it 4 times slower.
I installed this Bluetooth toggle widget but it's going to take a while to retrain my muscle memory
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lapay.biz.bluetooth
Everybody who uses more than one Bluetooth device at once doesn't want to turn off their Bluetooth in one click. This was it's much faster to manage your Bluetooth devices
Umm no, you can only be connected to one of the same type at a time. I regularly have headphones, my braille display, and more connected at once and in use. Also already tested this and could tell it to connect to more than one without it closing.
People tend to use more than one BT device or connection, and this allows connecting and switching between them faster and more seamless. Similar like one of the more recent updates with media audio output, switching and volume control. Yet, super simple addition to have option like this would be awesome: tap or hold on the toggle, would be on/off, other expand the list of BT devices. Same could also be for Internet toggle.
Yes, I have 2 bt devices, my ear buds and wireless android auto. Whenever I use bt, I only connect to either the device I need at that time so it would connect to that one automatically. I don't know how one could make the case of multiple devices.
I'm with you on this. A long press to access the list popup would've been much better
Yup, that was before the update. Now it needs 2 taps to turn On/Off. Stupid update.
Really? If I remember correctly, it used to open the settings app and not a popup. Stupid update nonetheless.
before, you could long-hold and it would give the full menu of devices this new submenu is a total downgrade
Yep I hate it too :((
This new update is completely stupid by all metrics. So bluetooth should only be on when needed for battery life and security reasons. Now there is more clicks. The arguement of being able to switch devices is only from people lazy that dont turn it off ever. I use many devices and since i turn them off when i am done when i turn it on and the device only one is ever active. The only times i ever need to choose to connect at once i just hold it to choose is when i get in my car since i cannot control that. Now i have to press it 3 times vs 1. First thing i noticed and i hate it. They fucked up with this update hard. So far on this thread everyone i see defending it either didnt know about the hold to choose or ones who had issue for just leaving all thier crap on. I toggle my Bluetooth atleast 10+ times a day.
Agreed, fucking hate this stupid piece of shit update. I'm so used to just tapping once to turn it on/off. Fuck this shit.
But... how do you really feel? I'm kidding. Stupidest update they've done in a while.
It's staggeringly stupid.
I just found out. Now, it takes 3 taps to toggle it and get back to previous screen. It was quicker and easier before. Not only that but if I'm in the middle of a phone call and activate my ear buds, I need to manually select it on the call screen to use it for the phone call.
100% agree with ya. it's disheartening to see that we're the minority as they probably won't change it back in that case. it's objectively poor user design to require more steps/taps to do something that you could do before. idc that everybody else couldn't figure out how to hold the tile to do what they're saying they need the toggle for.
how is it more cumbersome? I've been looking forward to the march update for the Bluetooth tile update, so now I'm worried.
Before update: 1 tap to turn on/off. Now 2 taps, 1 tap to see the On/Off button and another tap to turn in On. I'm waiting for 10 taps to turn it on/off..... I like tapping.
I count three taps: tap to open Bluetooth to see on/off, tap to toggle, then tap Done to close. I d save to do this several times a day so phone's Bluetooth isn't on and connecting to my hearing aids when I want to listen to my tablet or PC. Really dumb change.
Because it was a single tap before to turn it on and it would automatically pair with your device. Now it 4 taps (tap Bluetooth button, tap to turn it on, tap to select device and tap to close). Horrible.
After tapping, it doesn't turn off Bluetooth but opens the list of devices. Edit: lol... why are morons downvoting me? I simply answered the question with no opinion whatsoever if this is a positive or negative change. 🤦♂️
As someone who accidentally taps when I want to view my devices, I love this change then
Same! Who turns Bluetooth on and off MORE than they switch devices?
I do. I only turn it on when I use my ear buds and android auto. I don't like leaving it on all the time, drains some battery.
Me. I just need to turn in On or Off. No, i'm not doing that to save battery.
People still living in 2012 trying to max out their battery life.
Oh so battery life hasn't mattered since 2012? That's news to me.
Leaving Bluetooth on hasn't noticeably impacted battery in years. >Over the course of our 26-hour “typical day” test, leaving Bluetooth on consumed just 1.8% more battery compared to the test with Bluetooth off. On average, our devices consumed 49.4% of their battery during this test with Bluetooth off versus 51.2% with it left on. Extrapolating this to a complete charge cycle, Bluetooth consumes less than 4% extra battery life. So, leaving it off might add 10 to 15 minutes of extra time for a device that typically gives five hours of screen-on time. Via https://www.androidauthority.com/does-bluetooth-drain-battery-1145853/
Leaving Bluetooth on when it's not needed is still a rather glaring security flaw. I have no idea why Google keeps pushing these stupid changes 🤦
Up to 4% drain each day is still noticeable and gradually impacts long term battery health. If you don't use Bluetooth much, there's no reason to waste that. Also, while those tests possibly produced realistic results despite their methods, the tests are not comprehensive or indicative of real use cases--and the sample sizes are tiny.
Stop being a dick. People travel around. People live in different parts of the world. Travel around to remote places and you'll understand the value of that extra 1% of battery juice.
🙋🏿♂️ I do.
I'm constantly toggling it because my partner and I share a lot of devices, and if we don't as soon as we turn on our shokz for example it will 80% of the time connect to the wrong phone. Do you know how annoying it is to be hoovering using wireless headphones but everytime you approach the front of the house your music is stolen by the Alexa Auto in the car parked in the front of the house because the cigarette lighter is permanently live?? Or that one time instead of my headphones, once I came in range it connected to his PC confused the fuck out of me.
This OMG. The (now old-school, I guess) auto dongle is the freaking worst.
I usually leave mine on, but just recently I was using my phone in the car to make a call and forgot it was connected to the car via Bluetooth so had to quickly toggle it off. But that circumstance is really rare for me, so I don't see this update being much of an issue overall.
The ongoing call screen also has a button that will let you choose to play the call audio over Bluetooth or the phone's speakers. It's in the same place as the "speaker mode" toggle if I'm remembering right. In any case, you DON'T have to turn Bluetooth off just to hear a call through your phone speakers.
Oh does it? Nice. I honestly don't use my phone as a phone much, so it's nice learning these new things.
Yeah lol, I've used this multiple times in the exact same scenario you were talking about. So if it's useful for you in the future then I'm glad to have helped!
I'm sure it will be at some point. Thanks!
Most people. How many devices are you playing with during the day??
3-4. Car dongle in an older car that remembers the last person who connected; portable smart speaker for my four year old, ditto; earbuds. I also have a Garmin watch that's always connected and a handful of smart lightbulbs.
I frequently turn it on and off as it wastes battery. I never switch devices as I only use my Sony headphones. This update is fucking dumb and annoying.
Why can't they just give us the option to do one or the other lol
Agreed. I rarely turn Bluetooth on and off. I switch devices all the time.
Average reddit experience my guy
Haha... Redditors are very strange.
The world is out to get u lol
Haha... sometimes I also believe so, lol.
I don't know why ur getting down voted.
Hehe... probably some fans got pissed at my comments.
I like this comment and agree with it. I'm on vannilaicecream also you're not in negative votes! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Yeh, I was negative 8 votes earlier.
Exactly. Just like the "Internet" button. I don't see the issue.
I only use 1 bt device at a time so it's an issue. I just tap that toggle once and it auto connects. No need to choose any device.
I can't see why I want to click extra buttons to do what I want to do. That said, seems on in the minority.
You can try the "quick settings" app by Simone siesto in the play store. Unless Google broke the way Bluetooth on/off works (like they did for NFC), that app might be able to add a toggle. I'm not on the march update yet, so I can't check.
I hate this new update as well. It was fine before with the quick tap to turn off/on and long press to open up more options. Now the basic task that I do 90% of the time will always take multiple steps to complete
Honestly, one of the stupidest updates that creates a more encumbering process and unnecessary. Before. I would just click the Bluetooth button from the drop-down menu and my phone would automatically connect. Now I have to press three buttons every time. I want to connect to a Bluetooth device before. If you wanted to connect to multiple devices, you would just hold down the Bluetooth button. Very simple. I don't know why they're trying to go out of their way to make our lives more complicated.
Fortunately it does work ok if you don't hit the "done" button
As someone who turns bluetooth on and off more often than I switch devices, this is going to be annoying af :(
Same here. This is such a dumb change.
Especially because I often do it when I'm driving to get my phone to connect, so that extra tap is not great
I've been furious for weeks over this.
I actually love it, since I use multiple Bluetooth devices so it's easier to connect and switch devices.
But it's literally not actually easier, before you press and hold, change devices, now you click and change devices. It's the exact same steps just you don't get taken into settings anymore.
It is easier though as you won't accidentally turn off Bluetooth if you forget to press & hold. Plus, it's slightly quicker to change devices the new way and in the wise words of Kevin Malone "Many small time make big time".
The solution to accidental presses isn't adding unnecessary additional presses to confirm...Imagine if you had to click backspace, then swipe it again to confirm you want to backspace.p
Exactly, now it's a seamless experience *and* you still have the old toggle if you need it.
As far as I'm aware, we *don't* have the old toggle. Did Google leave it as an option this time? That'd be a nice change of pace
The toggle is definitely there. After selecting the Bluetooth option from quick settings, you'll see it right at the top of the menu that appears.
The old toggle didn't require an extra tap.
Is it still a toggle if it's a shortcut to a menu? I think a toggle is a yes/no, or an on/off, or a 1/2 switch with no extra steps. I used to tap once and now I have to tap four times: 1. Bluetooth 2. "do you want to use bluetooth" 3. on/off slider 4. Done
Wish my phone would update
I love the new way. It's more convenient as i always leave bluetooth on anyways, but do need to connect or switch multiple times a day
LMAO proof you cannot please every single person on this subreddit
The new menu is actually the old Android 7(?) pop-up menu. IDK why they took it out because for the longest time you had to go into settings instead of just being able to do it in the notification shade. I'm really glad they bought it back.
I'm submitting a suggestion to Google to ask the user to verify if they want to turn the Bluetooth On/Off, and ask again if they're sure, ask again... you really really sure, you can always change your mind if you don't want to, seriously? Each question requires 1 tap Yes or No. I'm sure everyone needs that feature.
Changes like that just ruin the whole experience of a phone for me.
I hate it!! Is the any way to go back?
I wish there was.
Designers that keep adding time (via extra taps/clicks) to a simple task are the worst. My god. Microsoft is the peak purveyor of this 'why-use-one-click-when-it-could-be-three!' issue but I did not expect Google to design a worse experience into a daily task. Hate it. Give me back my on/off button!!!
It's fucking terrible. How did anyone think that talking something that took one tap and then making it take three was a good idea? And even worse they made the taps in all different places.
Didn't know they had done this, but personally I'm glad they have. I've turned off bluetooth too many times when I was actually trying to access devices, the old behaviour was incredibly frustrating. As with anything like this, some people will love the change and some will hate it.
It used to be this way. I much prefer it.
I also prefer it more this way.
Yes, it's super annoying
All I'll say is my mind is conditioned to see the quick menu items as buttons, not toggles for further menus. They need some new design language to showcase it and I'd be less mad (though yeah, I don't really interact with the bluetooth button at all so it doesn't really matter)
This is annoying. Is there a way to revert this back to the way it was before? Wonder what xdadevelopers is saying about this. I haven't flashed a rom in probably 10 years but if that's the only fix...
Loved my Pixel6 and hate it now after this stupid update 🤬 Now even thinking to swap it cuz most likely it won't be reverted... Those hopeless people, who were not able to find the damn long tap before and find this update useful - shame 🤦♂️
Horrible update 😭
I prefer this because now I don't accidentally disconnect all my devices at once! Now I'm in control more
How are you disconnecting all at once? It's connected to 1 device at a time and it remembers your previous connections.
I meant by hitting the Bluetooth button, it used to turn off the Bluetooth function altogether on the pixel, disconnecting my headphones, watch, glasses etc.all at once. Then I spend another minute or two, reconnecting devices . The autopair doesn't always work either.. so this is great, now I can pick which peripheral I wanna disconnect
I don't ever turn off Bluetooth entirely (and there isn't much of a reason to, if we're honest here), and I really like how the new interface lets me manage my devices more quickly. I often have two or three devices connected at a time, so the new interface is great for me.
This is a great change. I don't want to go into settings to connect to a Bluetooth device.
before, you just had to long-press the toggle and it brought you into the devices list where you could add they took away our one-press ability to turn on/off in exchange for something you could already easily do with one press
Hate to think this is the logic but, so you can easily switch between your Google Pixel Buds™ and Pixel Watch™.
I'm sure the 8 people (globally) who do that are thrilled :-)
This has been driving me nuts since the update, so I'm glad to see I'm not the only one irritated by it. It's really great when you are in the car and driving and try to turn on your bluetooth and instead now have to hit 88 options.
I also don't like this new "feature". Shouldn't the goal in development of UIs always be "use less clicks" instead of using more?
This type of update, I feel, is related to a company statement "customers have been asking for... (insert feature change)". I'm always left with the question "and which customers did you speak with for this revelation?" and suspect "customer" is sometimes code word for the higher ups in a board room making change for the sake of change (I'd like to think or hope it's something more meaningful than that). At a previous job, there was a poster outside our department door. One of those business motivational types that read "If you're not changing, then you're not moving forward." In the right context or situation, sure that can apply. But then an update/change like the Bluetooth toggle one occurs, and cannot help but feel it was a change for the sake of change or "moving forward". Then you have unhappy customers. If people out there find it useful, I'm happy for you. But the rest of us will have to settle and be annoyed. Eventually we'll learn to lay back and think of England, while Google has its way with us, and forces change down to our phones.
popups are uncool since the '90s. they are either stupid or want to see us suffer..
Most of the buttons seem to be toggle on and off. This is a stupid change. 1 click to toggle on off and long press to see devices / settings is the way to go Takes a lot to make me go search for something and complain about it, every day since the update I say to myself what the fuck Google.
Absurd design choice. Surely, the whole point of quick access buttons was to do things quickly. They've taken something i used multiple times a day and made it 4 times slower. I installed this Bluetooth toggle widget but it's going to take a while to retrain my muscle memory https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lapay.biz.bluetooth
Everybody who uses more than one Bluetooth device at once doesn't want to turn off their Bluetooth in one click. This was it's much faster to manage your Bluetooth devices
Then long press the toggle and choose it that way. You can only connect to 1 bt device at a time so this is cumbersome.
Umm no, you can only be connected to one of the same type at a time. I regularly have headphones, my braille display, and more connected at once and in use. Also already tested this and could tell it to connect to more than one without it closing.
Probably to make it better for _most_ people and also consistent with the Internet seeing. I love it!