Our mobile is a Swiss army knife full of tools and solutions for almost anything. Sound is a fundamental section, and this can be more or less powerful depending on certain settings. In addition, Android has a little-known tool to enhance the sounds that come from our environment or from our own device.
Many of the functions that Android integrates and that are less well known to us, are designed to help the user who has a vision or hearing problem. However, they can be used by the rest for other purposes or as a mere curiosity. In this case, the sound amplifier tool can be used with headphones connected via Bluetooth or cable, with the aim of filtering, increasing and amplifying the sounds of our environment and of the Android device itself.
How sound magnification is activated
In other words, it can be useful as a kind of “sonotone” for people with hearing problems, but used for other purposes, such as amplifying the sound of multimedia content that does not have a powerful or clear sound. This function is integrated as standard in the Google Pixels, but the rest of Android users must download the necessary complement from Google Play, so that it can be used as a complementary accessibility option.
Once done we will have to connect our headphones, either by cable or Bluetooth, and enter the downloaded function “Sound Amplifier”. If we have a Pixel, we will find the function within Settings / Accessibility / Sound amplifier. To start Sound Amplifier , we can use the Sound Amplifier shortcut (swipe up with two fingers) or touch the Accessibility button.
Options available to adjust
Within the function we will have several settings to adapt the volume and tuning levels of the environment:
- Pause Amplification : Playing will pause amplification, when the sound is clear and loud enough.
- Change the sound settings: in the sound tab, we can change the “Amplify and Adjust” controls until we find the configuration that best suits us
- Adjust each ear separately : within the “Sound” tab, we can activate “Adjust both ears” separately to adjust the sound of the left and right ear independently.
- Reduce unwanted sounds : within the “Noise” tab we can change the level of noise reduction.
Other tricks
This function has other really surprising uses, if we take into account that it is a “hidden” setting on our mobile.
Use as a remote microphone
It is a function that will allow us to bring the mobile closer to a television or to some speakers and put on Bluetooth headphones. We will listen to the sound through the headphones and thus the volume will not disturb others. In addition, on the Pixels with Android 10, the sound amplifier can be used to play audio and video on the mobile.