Android users who refuse to give up their AirPods finally have a real fix for all the missing features.
A free app called LibrePods unlocks many of the controls that Apple keeps locked to iPhone and Mac, including ANC modes, auto play and pause, battery stats and more. There is a big catch, though: your phone needs to be rooted for the magic to work.
LibrePods, developed by Kavish Devar, essentially trick your AirPods into thinking they are connected to an Apple device.
Once set up, you can switch between Noise Cancellation, Adaptive and Transparency modes, see exact battery percentages for each bud and the case, and even tweak what happens on a long press. The app also restores features like ear detection so audio can pause when you pull an AirPod out and resume when you pop it back in.
LibrePods goes further than most battery widget-style tools. It supports Conversational Awareness that drops the volume when it hears you speaking, and it even enables head gesture controls so you can answer calls with a nod.
You can rename your AirPods and adjust controls in a way that feels very close to what you get in iOS settings. There are hidden extras too, such as deeper transparency customisation, multi-device support and turning your AirPods into basic hearing aids by routing external sound through the mics.
To make all this happen, you need to enable a setting called Act as an Apple device so the buds behave as if they are paired with an iPhone, iPad or Mac.
The trade-off is that your Android phone must be rooted, and the developer recommends using the Xposed framework to patch system-level Bluetooth behaviour. Without root, you are mostly limited to basic functions, much like when you just use AirPods with Android, although some OPPO and OnePlus phones may expose a little more.
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LibrePods offers full control for AirPods Pro second and third gen, while older models should at least report battery and ear detection correctly. The app is free and open source, with downloads and source code available on GitHub, so power users can audit or tweak it if they like.
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