Concurrent audio streaming to multiple wireless audio output devices

Abstract

The invention relates to concurrent audio streaming to multiple wireless audio output devices. A device for providing concurrent audio streaming to a plurality of wireless audio output devices may include at least one processor configured to receive a user selection of at least two paired audio output devices. The at least one processor may be further configured to connect to each paired audio output device of the at least two paired audio output devices of the paired audio output devices. The at least one processor may be further configured to synchronize at least one audio output synchronization parameter across each of the at least two of the paired audio output devices. The at least one processor may be further configured to concurrently stream a respective audio stream to each paired audio output device of the at least two paired audio output devices of the paired audio output devices.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of invention patent application 202010472393.1, filed on May 29, 2020, and entitled “Concurrent Audio Streaming to Multiple Wireless Audio Output Devices”. Technical Field

[0002] This specification generally relates to audio streaming, including concurrent audio streaming to multiple wireless audio output devices. Background Art

[0003] A user may wirelessly stream audio from an electronic device, such as a phone, to a wireless audio output device, such as a wireless headset, wireless headphones, wireless earbuds, etc. For example, a user may stream music from their phone to their wireless audio output device, and / or a user may stream incoming audio for a communication session, such as a phone call, to their wireless audio output device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Certain features of the subject technology are set forth in the appended claims. However, for purposes of explanation, several embodiments of the subject technology are set forth in the following drawings.

[0005] Figure 1 An example network environment for concurrent audio streaming to multiple wireless audio output devices is shown in accordance with one or more implementations.

[0006] Figure 2 An example peer-to-peer network environment is shown, including an example electronic device and an example wireless audio output device, in accordance with one or more implementations.

[0007] Figure 3 A flow chart is shown of an example process for temporarily pairing with a proximate wireless audio output device for concurrent audio streaming in accordance with one or more implementations.

[0008] Figure 4 A flow chart illustrating an example process for concurrent audio streaming to multiple wireless audio output devices in accordance with one or more implementations is shown.

[0009] Figure 5 A flow chart of an example process for configuring concurrent audio streaming via a proximate electronic device wirelessly coupled to a proximate wireless audio output device in accordance with one or more implementations is shown.

[0010] Figure 6 A flow chart illustrating an example process for facilitating a temporary connection between a connected wireless device and a proximate electronic device without directly pairing the devices in accordance with one or more implementations.

[0011] Figure 7 Detailed Description of the Invention The present invention conceptually illustrates an example electronic system that can be used to implement various aspects of the subject technology in accordance with one or more implementations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] The specific embodiments shown below are intended to be descriptions of various configurations of the subject technology and are not intended to represent the only configuration in which the subject technology can be practiced. The accompanying drawings are incorporated herein and constitute a part of the specific embodiments. The specific embodiments include specific details intended to provide a thorough understanding of the subject technology. However, the subject technology is not limited to the specific details described herein, and one or more other specific implementations can be used to practice. In one or more specific implementations, structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid blurring the concepts of the subject technology.

[0013] A user, when streaming audio from an electronic device such as a mobile phone or a television to a wireless audio output device such as their wireless headset, may wish to concurrently stream the audio to another nearby wireless audio output device, such as a wireless headset / earbuds of a friend, family member, or partner, etc. For example, a user, when streaming, for example, music or a podcast on a mobile device, may wish to concurrently stream the music or podcast to another user's wireless audio output device for a shared listening experience. Similarly, a user, when streaming audio corresponding to a movie or other video content, may wish to concurrently stream the audio or a variation thereof (e.g., a director's commentary) to another user's wireless audio output device for a shared content viewing experience.

[0014] The subject system for concurrent audio streaming to multiple wireless audio output devices allows a user to temporarily pair their electronic device with another user's wireless audio output device, directly or indirectly, such as when the user's electronic device is already paired and connected to their own wireless audio output device. For example, a user's electronic device can be temporarily paired directly with another user's wireless audio output device.

[0015] In one or more specific implementations, when another user's wireless audio output device is connected to another user's electronic device, such as another user's mobile phone, the user's electronic device may be temporarily paired with the other user's wireless audio output device indirectly via the other user's electronic device. For example, the other user's electronic device may perform temporary pairing with the other user's wireless audio output device to generate pairing information for a temporary connection between the user's electronic device and the other user's wireless audio output device. The other user's electronic device may provide the user's electronic device with temporary pairing information, such as via a secure channel.

[0016] After direct or indirect temporary pairing, the user's electronic device may automatically connect to the other user's wireless audio output device and, for example, stream audio to the other user's wireless audio output device while concurrently streaming audio to their own wireless audio output device. The electronic device may independently control the volume of each of the audio streams and / or may independently control the content of each of the audio streams. In one or more specific implementations, the electronic device may use a separate profile (e.g., a separate Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP)) for each of the wireless audio output devices.

[0017] In one or more specific implementations, the audio streams concurrently streamed to the wireless audio output devices may be the same audio content, such as the same music, in which case the user's electronic device may synchronize one or more audio output synchronization parameters (e.g., jitter buffer depth) across the wireless audio output devices so that the audio output of each wireless audio output device is substantially synchronized.

[0018] The pairing of a user's device with another user's wireless audio output device may be referred to as "temporary" because after the other user's wireless audio output device is disconnected from the user's electronic device, such as after a timeout period expires, the user's electronic device automatically and without user input deletes the pairing information (e.g., link key) corresponding to the other user's wireless audio output device. In this way, the other user's wireless audio output device cannot subsequently reconnect to the user's electronic device without pairing again. In one or more specific implementations, the other user's wireless audio output device may also automatically and without user input delete the pairing information corresponding to the user's electronic device after disconnection (such as after a timeout period expires).

[0019] For purposes of illustration, temporary pairing is described with respect to a wireless audio output device. However, temporary pairing can be used to facilitate a temporary connection with any wireless device, such as a wireless stylus, a wireless access control device, a wearable device, a wireless printer, a wireless home device (e.g., a wireless thermostat, etc.), or generally any wireless device that one user can temporarily share access to and / or control with another user.

[0020] Figure 1An example network environment 100 for concurrent audio streaming to multiple wireless audio output devices according to one or more implementations is shown. However, not all of the depicted components may be used in all implementations, and one or more implementations may include additional or different components than those shown in the figures. Changes in the arrangement and types of these components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims listed herein. Additional components, different components, or fewer components may be provided.

[0021] The network environment 100 includes one or more electronic devices 102A-B, one or more wireless audio output devices 104A-B, a network 106, and a service provider server 108. The network 106 may communicatively (directly or indirectly) couple, for example, any two or more of the electronic devices 102A-B and / or the service provider server 108. Figure 1 , the wireless audio output devices 104A-B are shown as not being directly coupled to the network 106 ; however, in one or more implementations, one or more of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B may be directly coupled to the network 106 .

[0022] The network 106 may be an interconnected network of devices that may include the Internet or be communicatively coupled to the Internet. In one or more implementations, a connection through the network 106 may be referred to as a wide area network connection, and a connection between two or more of the electronic devices 102A-B and / or the wireless audio output devices 104A-B may be referred to as a peer-to-peer connection. The service provider server 108 may include one or more server devices and / or network devices that facilitate providing one or more services, such as secure cloud storage services, to the electronic devices 102A-B through the network 106. The service provider server 108 may be and / or may include the following references Figure 7 All or part of the electronic system in question.

[0023] One or more of the electronic devices 102A-B may be, for example, a portable computing device such as a laptop computer, a smart phone, a peripheral device (e.g., a digital camera, a headset), a tablet device, a smart speaker, a set-top box, a content streaming device, a wearable device such as a watch, a band, etc., or any other suitable device including one or more wireless interfaces (such as one or more near field communication (NFC) radio components, WLAN radio components, Bluetooth radio components, Zigbee radio components, cellular radio components, and / or other radio components). Figure 1 In the embodiment, by way of example, electronic devices 102A-B are depicted as mobile phones. One or more of electronic devices 102A-B may be and / or may include the following reference Figure 2 The electronic devices discussed and / or referenced below Figure 7 All or part of the electronic system in question.

[0024] One or more of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B may be, for example, a wireless headphone device, a wireless headset, one or more wireless earbuds, a smart speaker, or generally any device that includes audio output circuitry and one or more wireless interfaces such as a near field communication (NFC) radio, a WLAN radio, a Bluetooth radio, a Zigbee radio, and / or other radios. Figure 1 In the embodiment, by way of example, the wireless audio output device 104A is depicted as a wireless headset, and the wireless audio output device 104B is depicted as a set of wireless earbuds. One or more of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B may be and / or may include the following references Figure 2 The wireless audio output devices discussed and / or referenced below Figure 7 All or part of the electronic system in question.

[0025] One or more of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B may be paired with one or more of the electronic devices 102A-B, such as via Bluetooth. Pairing of the wireless audio output device 104A with the electronic device 102A may involve generating a link key shared between the two devices 102A, 104A, which will be referred to below. Figure 2 Further discussion. After the two devices 102A, 104A are paired together, when the devices 102A, 104A are located in proximity to each other, such as within the Bluetooth communication range of each other, the devices 102A, 104A can automatically form a secure peer-to-peer connection using the link key. For example, the devices 102A, 104A can use the link key to generate a session key for protecting the connection. However, if the devices 102A, 104A are not paired and / or if the link key is deleted at one or more of the devices 102A, 104A, the devices 102A, 104A may no longer be able to automatically form a secure peer-to-peer connection unless the pairing process is re-executed. The electronic devices 102A-B can stream audio such as music, phone calls, etc. to their respective paired and connected wireless audio output devices 104A-B.

[0026] In one or more specific implementations, one or more of the electronic devices 102A-B and / or one or more of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B may be associated with and / or registered to the same (public) user account via the service provider server 108. For example, the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104A may be associated with a first user account, and the electronic device 102B and the wireless audio output device 104B may be associated with a second user account. The service provider server 108 may allow the electronic devices 102A-B, such as the electronic device 102A, to securely store pairing information, such as a link key, corresponding to other devices associated with the same user account (such as the wireless audio output device 104A) via a cloud storage service. Other devices associated with the user account (such as a tablet device [not shown]) may be able to retrieve pairing information for the wireless audio output device 104A from the service provider server 108 in order to establish a wireless connection with the wireless audio output device 104A.

[0027] The subject technology allows an electronic device, such as electronic device 102A, to be concurrently connected to multiple wireless audio output devices 104A-B and concurrently stream audio to each of the connected wireless audio output devices 104A-B, such as to provide a shared listening session. For example, a user of electronic device 102A may stream music from electronic device 102A to wireless audio output device 104A, and the user may wish for a user of electronic device 102B to hear the streamed music on wireless audio output device 104B.

[0028] The subject technology allows an electronic device 102A to temporarily pair with a wireless audio output device 104B, connect to the wireless audio output device 104B, and then stream audio, such as music, to both of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B concurrently. The pairing may be considered temporary in the sense that the electronic device 102A and / or the wireless audio output device 104B may automatically and without user input delete the pairing information after the audio sharing session is complete, such as when the devices 102A, 104B do not reconnect within a threshold amount of time. An example process for temporarily pairing an electronic device 102A with a wireless audio output device 104B is described below with reference to Figure 3 Further discussion.

[0029] The subject technology also allows the electronic device 102A to independently control the content of the corresponding audio stream provided to each of the multiple wireless audio output devices 104A-B, and independently control the volume, tone, pitch, bass, and any other audio attributes of the corresponding audio stream provided to each of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B. An example process for concurrent audio streaming from the electronic device 102A to the multiple wireless audio output devices 104A-B is described below with reference to Figure 4 Further discussion.

[0030] In one or more specific implementations, if the wireless audio output device 104B is connected to the electronic device 102B, the electronic device 102A can be indirectly paired with the wireless audio output device 104B via the electronic device 102B. For example, the electronic device 102B can perform a pairing process with the wireless audio output device 104B (e.g., on behalf of the electronic device 102A), and the electronic device 102B can provide the generated pairing information to the electronic device 102A. In this way, the electronic device 102A can connect to the wireless audio output device 104B and stream audio to the wireless audio output device 104B without directly pairing with the wireless audio output device 104B.

[0031] Reference below Figure 5 An example process for configuring the electronic device 102A to stream audio via the electronic device 102B (which is wirelessly coupled to the wireless audio output device 104B) is discussed further below. Figure 6 Discussing further the example process, the electronic device 102B generally facilitates a temporary connection between a connected wireless device, such as the wireless audio output device 104B, and a proximate electronic device, such as the electronic device 102A, without requiring direct pairing of the devices 102A, 104B.

[0032] Figure 2 An example peer-to-peer network environment 200 is shown, including an example electronic device 102A and an example wireless audio output device 104A, according to one or more implementations. Figure 2 102A; however, one or more components of the electronic device 102A may also be implemented by another electronic device 102B. Similarly, for illustrative purposes, Figure 2104A; however, one or more components of the wireless audio output device 104A may also be implemented by another wireless audio output device 104B. However, not all of the components depicted may be used in all implementations, and one or more implementations may include additional or different components than those shown in the figures. Changes in the arrangement and type of these components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims listed herein. Additional components, different components, or fewer components may be provided.

[0033] The electronic device 102A may include a host processor 202A, memory 204A, and radio frequency (RF) circuitry 206A. The wireless audio output device may include a host processor 202B, memory 204A, RF circuitry 206B, and a digital signal processor (DSP) 208.

[0034] The RF circuitry 206A-B may include one or more antennas and one or more transceivers for sending / receiving RF communications such as WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular, etc. In one or more specific implementations, the RF circuitry 206A of the electronic device 102A may include circuitry for forming a wide area network connection and a peer-to-peer connection, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and / or cellular circuitry, while the RF circuitry 206B of the wireless audio output device 104A may include Bluetooth, WiFi, and / or other circuitry for forming a peer-to-peer connection.

[0035] The host processor 202A-B may include suitable logic components, circuits, and / or codes that enable processing of data and / or control of operation of the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104A, respectively. In this regard, the host processor 202A-B may be enabled to provide control signals to various other components of the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104A, respectively. In addition, the host processor 202A-B may enable implementation of an operating system, or may otherwise execute code to manage the operation of the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104A, respectively. The memory 204A-B may include suitable logic components, circuits, and / or codes that enable storage of various types of information, such as received data, generated data (such as link keys), code, and / or configuration information. The memory 204A-B may include, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, and / or a magnetic storage device. The DSP 208 of the wireless audio output device 104A may include suitable logic components, circuits, and / or codes that enable specific processing.

[0036] In one or more specific implementations, the electronic device 102A may be paired with the wireless audio output device 104A to generate pairing information that can be used to form a connection (such as a peer-to-peer connection between the devices 102A, 104A). Pairing may include, for example, exchanging communication addresses such as classic Bluetooth addresses and generating link keys. In one or more specific implementations, the link key may be a symmetric key used to form a secure connection between the devices 102A, 104A. For example, the devices 102A, 104A may use the link key, for example, in combination with entropy generated by one or both of the devices 102A, 104A to generate a symmetric session key. The session key may be used by the devices 102A, 104A to form a secure connection.

[0037] Thus, after pairing, the devices 102A, 104A may store the generated and / or exchanged pairing information, e.g., communication addresses and / or link keys, in the respective memories 204A-B. In this manner, the devices 102A, 104A may connect to each other automatically and without user input using the respective pairing information when within the communication range of the respective RF circuits 206A-B. However, if the pairing between the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104A is a temporary pairing, such as for a shared audio session, after the connection is terminated and reconnection does not occur within a threshold amount of time, the devices 102A, 104A may automatically and without user input delete the respective pairing information from the respective memories 204A-B. In this manner, the devices 102A, 104A cannot reestablish a connection without first re-performing the pairing process and generating new pairing information (e.g., a new link key).

[0038] In one or more specific implementations, one or more of the host processors 202A-B, the DSP 208, and / or one or more portions thereof may be implemented in software (e.g., subroutines and code), in hardware (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a controller, a state machine, a gated logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any other suitable device), and / or a combination of both.

[0039] Figure 3 A flowchart of an exemplary process 300 for temporarily pairing with a nearby wireless audio output device for concurrent audio streaming is shown in accordance with one or more implementations. Figure 1 and 2The process 300 is described with reference to the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104A-B of FIG. However, the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104A-B are presented as exemplary devices, and the operations described herein may be performed by any suitable device. Further for the purpose of illustration, the operations of the process 300 are described herein as occurring sequentially or linearly. However, multiple operations of the process 300 may be performed in parallel so that they overlap at least partially in time. In addition, the operations of the process 300 do not have to be performed in the order shown, and / or one or more operations of the process 300 do not have to be performed and / or may be replaced by other operations.

[0040] When the electronic device 102A discovers a nearby wireless audio output device 104B, while the electronic device 102A is connected to another wireless audio output device 104A, the process 300 begins (302). For example, the wireless audio output device 104B (and / or the electronic device 102A) may send a broadcast packet indicating the current state of the wireless audio output device 104B, such as connected, in-ear, in-shell, etc. In one or more specific implementations, the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104A may be associated with a first user account, such as associated with a service provider server 108, and the wireless audio output device 104B may be associated with a second different user account. The electronic device 102A may receive one or more broadcast packets, and, based on the reception of the broadcast packets, the electronic device 102A may discover and / or detect that the wireless audio output device 104B is nearby or adjacent.

[0041] In one or more specific implementations, the broadcast packet may also indicate whether the neighboring wireless audio output device 104B is capable of performing temporary pairing and / or is otherwise capable of participating in concurrent streaming. As part of the discovery process, the electronic device 102A may also verify, for example based on the received broadcast packet, that the neighboring wireless audio output device 104B is capable of participating in concurrent streaming.

[0042] Upon discovering a nearby wireless audio output device 104B (302), the electronic device 102A may display an indication that the nearby wireless audio output device 104B is available for concurrent streaming (304). For example, the electronic device 102A may display a pop-up user interface element (e.g., a pop-up list) and / or a notification indicating that the wireless audio output device 104B is available for concurrent audio streaming. In one or more specific implementations, instead of and / or in addition to displaying an indication, the electronic device 102B may provide an audio notification, a tactile notification, and / or another form of notification.

[0043] In response to the display indication (304), the electronic device 102A may, such as receiving a request from a user to initiate concurrent audio streaming (306) with the wireless audio output device 104B and, for example, the wireless audio output device 104A currently connected to the electronic device 102A. The electronic device 102A may be temporarily paired with the wireless audio output device 104B to generate a link key (308). The pairing may be and / or may include, for example, a Bluetooth pairing mechanism, such as a secure simple pairing, or generally any form of pairing. For example, user input about the wireless audio output device 104B and / or a situation associated with the wireless audio output device 104B, such as pressing a button, may be included in the pairing. In one or more specific implementations, the pairing may also involve exchanging additional information, such as a communication address including a Bluetooth Classic address.

[0044] Then, the electronic device 102A can automatically and without user input use the link key and / or at least partially based on the link key to establish a connection with the adjacent wireless audio output device 104B (310). In one or more specific implementations, when the wireless audio output devices 104A-B are connected to the electronic device 102A via a Bluetooth connection, the Bluetooth controller of the electronic device 102A can maintain a separate connection for each of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B. Therefore, packets can be sent individually to the wireless audio output devices 104A-B, and one or more link parameters of the connection can be managed and / or maintained individually. For example, if no confirmation of one or more packets is received from the wireless audio output device 104A within a threshold amount of time, the electronic device 102A can stop waiting for the confirmation and send the packet to the wireless audio output device 104B. In this way, if one of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B is experiencing interference and / or a poor connection with the electronic device 102A, neither of the two wireless audio output devices 104A-B will be penalized.

[0045] Furthermore, in the example of Bluetooth connections, the electronic device 102A may use separate and independent Bluetooth profiles for connections with each of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B, such as A2DP, HFP, AVCRP, etc. In the example of concurrently streaming audio, the electronic device 102A may use a first A2DP profile for connections with the wireless audio output device 104A and a second separate A2DP profile for connections with the wireless audio output device 104B.

[0046] After establishing the connection, the electronic device 102A sends an indication to the wireless audio output device 104B that the pairing is temporary (312), e.g., when the connection with the electronic device 102A is terminated, the wireless audio output device 104B should perform one or more predetermined link key maintenance procedures, which will be discussed further below. In addition, because the pairing is temporary, the electronic device 102A does not store the link key for the connection of the wireless audio output device 104B associated with its user account, for example, in a cloud storage service provided by the service provider server 108. However, the electronic device 102A can store the link key for the connection with the wireless audio output device 104A in the cloud storage service provided by the service provider server 108 because both devices 102A, 104A are associated with the same user account.

[0047] The electronic device 102A may then determine whether the same audio content is streamed to the two wireless audio output devices 104A-B. If the same audio content is streamed to the two wireless audio output devices 104A-B, the electronic device 102A may synchronize one or more audio output synchronization parameters between the wireless audio output devices 104A-B (314). For example, the electronic device 102A may synchronize the jitter buffer depths on the wireless audio output devices 104A-B, such as by setting the jitter buffer depths on the two wireless audio output devices 104A-B to match the maximum jitter buffer depth between the audio output devices 104A-B. The electronic device 102A may also synchronize audio-video synchronization parameters, such as audio delay or shift parameters, such as when the concurrently streamed audio corresponds to a video presented on the electronic device 102A.

[0048] Electronic device 102A can concurrently stream a first audio stream to a neighboring wireless audio output device 104B, and stream a second audio stream to another wireless audio output device 104A (316). Since the connection is independently maintained / managed by electronic device 102A, electronic device 102A can independently modify one or more audio properties of each stream, such as volume, bass, tone, or generally any audio property. Similarly, electronic device 102A can independently change the audio stream streamed to each wireless audio output device in wireless audio output devices 104A-B. For example, if a user wearing wireless audio output device 104A-B is watching video content such as a movie, electronic device 102A can stream a first audio stream such as an English audio track to wireless audio output device 104A, and stream a second audio stream such as a second language audio track, director's comments, etc. to wireless audio output device 104B. However, because the users are watching the same video content in this case, the electronic device 102A may synchronize one or more audio output synchronization parameters across the wireless audio output devices 104A-B even though the audio content streamed to each of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B is different.

[0049] The electronic device 102A may disconnect from the adjacent wireless audio output device 104B (318). For example, the wireless audio output device 104B and the electronic device 102B may move out of range of each other, the wireless audio output device 104B may be turned off, run out of power, or put away, the electronic device 102A may run out of power, and / or may have disabled its wireless functionality (e.g., enabling connection between the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104B).

[0050] When disconnected from the wireless audio output device 104B, the electronic device 102A starts a timer (320). The wireless audio output device 104B may also start a timer when disconnected based on an indication of a temporary pairing previously provided by the electronic device 102A. If the wireless audio output device 104B requests to reconnect to the electronic device 102A before the timer reaches the timeout value, the electronic device may automatically and without user input: reconnect to the wireless audio output device 104B, reset the timer, and / or resume concurrent audio streaming.

[0051] However, if the electronic device 102A does not receive a reconnect request from the wireless audio output device 104B before the timer reaches the timeout value (or the timer expires), the electronic device 102A automatically and without user input deletes the link key and / or any other stored pairing information corresponding to the wireless audio output device 104B (322). Since the electronic device 102A cannot connect to the wireless audio output device 104B without re-pairing after deleting the link key and / or any other stored pairing information, the deletion of the link key can be an effective unpairing of the electronic device 102A from the wireless audio output device 104B.

[0052] Similarly, when the timer of the wireless audio output device 104B reaches the timeout value without reconnecting to the electronic device 102A, the wireless audio output device 104B automatically and without user input deletes the link key and / or any other stored pairing information related to the electronic device 102A. The wireless audio output device 104B may also automatically and without user input reconnect to the last electronic device it was connected to, such as the electronic device 102B, prior to the temporary connection with the electronic device 102A.

[0053] In one or more specific implementations, if another wireless audio output device 104A is disconnected from the electronic device 102A, but the wireless audio output device 104B remains connected to the electronic device 102A, the electronic device 102A may continue to stream audio only to the wireless audio output device 104B until the audio streaming is completed or stopped, and / or until a timeout period is reached. Once the streaming is completed or stopped and / or the timeout period is reached, the electronic device 102A disconnects from the wireless audio output device 104B, starts a timer (320), and automatically and without user input deletes the link key and / or other stored pairing information corresponding to the wireless audio output device 104B when no reconnection request is received from the wireless audio output device 104B before the timer reaches the timeout value (322).

[0054] In one or more specific implementations, when the wireless audio output device 104B is removed from the concurrent audio streaming via a selector on the electronic device 102A, for example, if the user deselects the representation of the wireless audio output device 104B from the user interface corresponding to the concurrent audio streaming, the electronic device 102A can disconnect from the wireless audio output device 104B, start a timer (320), and when no reconnect request is received from the wireless audio output device 104B before the timer reaches a timeout value, automatically and without user input, delete the link key and / or any other stored pairing information corresponding to the wireless audio output device 104B (322).

[0055] In one or more implementations, if the wireless audio output device 104B is connected to a different electronic device, such as the electronic device 102B, if the wireless audio output device 104B is actively unpaired from the electronic device 102A (such as through a user interface), and / or if the electronic device 102A changes its audio output route (such as by a user selecting a different audio output device), the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104A automatically and without user input delete their respective link keys and any corresponding pairing information without starting a timer. However, in one or more implementations, the electronic device 102A and / or the wireless audio output device 104A may start a timer before deleting the link key and any corresponding pairing information.

[0056] In one or more specific implementations, the wireless audio output devices 104A-B can be connected to the electronic device 102A via different types of wireless connections. For example, the electronic device 102A can be connected to the wireless audio output device 104A via a Bluetooth connection, and connected to the wireless audio output device 104B via a WiFi Direct connection, a 60GHz connection, a Wi-Fi Aware connection, or generally any wireless connection. The electronic device 102A can stream audio concurrently to the wireless audio output devices 104A-B regardless of the connection type of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B.

[0057] Figure 4 A flowchart of an example process 400 for concurrent audio streaming to multiple wireless audio output devices according to one or more specific implementations is shown. Figure 1 and Figure 2The process 400 is described with reference to the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104A-B of FIG. However, the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104A-B are presented as exemplary devices, and the operations described herein may be performed by any suitable device. Further for the purpose of illustration, the operations of the process 400 are described herein as occurring sequentially or linearly. However, multiple operations of the process 400 may be performed in parallel so that they overlap at least partially in time. In addition, the operations of the process 400 do not have to be performed in the order shown, and / or one or more operations of the process 400 do not have to be performed and / or may be replaced by other operations.

[0058] When the electronic device 102A receives a user selection of at least two paired wireless audio output devices 104A-B, the process 400 begins (402). For example, the electronic device 102A may display a picker or selector interface that may receive a user selection of a plurality of wireless audio output devices 104A-B, such as together with outputting a particular audio stream. The wireless audio output devices 104A-B may all be associated with the same user account of the electronic device 102A, or one or more of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B may be associated with different user accounts of the electronic device 102A. The electronic device 102A may individually connect to each of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B (if not already connected) (404), and may individually configure a communication profile, such as a Bluetooth profile, with each of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B.

[0059] The electronic device 102A may optionally synchronize audio output synchronization parameters between the wireless audio output devices 104A-B (406). For example, the electronic device 102A may request each of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B to provide its current parameter configuration, the electronic device 102A may determine one or more synchronization parameters, and the electronic device 102A may send the one or more synchronization parameters to each of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B.

[0060] The electronic device 102A may then concurrently stream separate audio streams, e.g., having the same audio content, to the wireless audio output devices 104A-B (408). While performing concurrent audio streaming, the electronic device 102A may receive an incoming audio communication session, such as a telephone call, an audio-video conference call, etc. (410). The electronic device 102A may provide an audio (and / or tactile) notification of the incoming audio communication session to each of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B (412). For example, the electronic device 102A may mix the audio notification into the individual audio streams being concurrently streamed to the wireless audio output devices 104A-B.

[0061] The electronic device 102A may receive a request to receive an audio communication session from one of the wireless audio output devices 104A-B, such as the wireless audio output device 104A (414). In response to receiving the request, the electronic device 102A streams the audio communication session to one of the wireless audio output devices, such as the wireless audio output device 104A, while continuing to stream the audio stream to the other wireless audio output device, such as the wireless audio output device 104B (416). Once the audio communication session is completed, the electronic device 102A may resume streaming the audio stream to the wireless audio output device 104A. In one or more specific implementations, if the electronic device 102A receives requests from both wireless audio output devices 104A-B, the electronic device 102A streams the audio communication to the wireless audio output device whose request was first received by the wireless electronic device 102A.

[0062] In one or more specific implementations, when the wireless audio output device 104A is associated with the same user account as the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104B is associated with a different user account, the electronic device 102A may provide, for example, an audio (and / or tactile) notification of incoming audio communications only to the wireless audio output device 104A associated with the same user account as the electronic device 102A. Similarly, if a user wearing the wireless audio output device 104A launches a voice assistant through the wireless audio output device, the voice assistant response may be sent only to the wireless audio output device 104A, for example, and not to the wireless audio output device 104B.

[0063] Figure 5 A flowchart of an example process 500 for configuring concurrent audio streaming via a proximate electronic device wirelessly coupled to a proximate wireless audio output device according to one or more implementations is shown. Figure 1Process 500 is described with reference to electronic devices 102A-B and wireless audio output devices 104A-B. However, electronic devices 102A-B and wireless audio output devices 104A-B are presented as exemplary devices, and the operations described herein may be performed by any suitable device. Further for the purpose of explanation, the operations of process 500 are described herein as occurring sequentially or linearly. However, multiple operations of process 500 may occur in parallel or at least partially overlap. In addition, the operations of process 500 do not have to be performed in the order shown, and / or one or more operations of process 500 do not have to be performed and / or may be replaced by other operations.

[0064] When the electronic device 102A discovers a neighboring electronic device 102B that is wirelessly connected to another wireless audio output device 104B while connected to the wireless audio output device 104A, the process 500 may begin (502). For example, the electronic device 102A may detect a broadcast packet sent by the electronic device 102B, e.g., indicating that the electronic device 102B is wirelessly connected to the wireless audio output device 104B and / or the electronic device 102A may use ultra-wideband ranging and / or any other discovery mechanism to detect / discover the electronic device 102B. Upon discovering the neighboring electronic device 102B, the electronic device 102A may display an indication of the availability of the wireless audio output device 104B, such as via a user interface.

[0065] The electronic device 102A may establish a secure peer-to-peer connection (504) with the adjacent electronic device 102B, such as upon receiving a user request to connect to the wireless audio output device 104B. For example, the electronic device 102A may establish a secure Bluetooth connection, a secure Wi-Fi aware connection, a secure NFC connection, or generally any secure connection. In one or more specific implementations, if the electronic devices 102A-B are not within a threshold distance of each other, one or more of the electronic devices 102A-B may display instructions for bringing the electronic devices 102A-B closer to each other. In one or more specific implementations, the electronic device 102A may negotiate / exchange encryption keys with the electronic device 102B via an out-of-band channel such as a communication / messaging channel that supports end-to-end encryption. The electronic devices 102A-B may then use the encryption keys to protect the peer-to-peer connection.

[0066] The electronic device 102A may send a request to the electronic device 102B to connect to another wireless audio output device 104B (506). The request may be sent, for example, via a secure peer-to-peer connection. In one or more specific implementations, the electronic device 102B may receive the request and may display a user interface requesting the user of the electronic device 102B to confirm that the electronic device 102A may access the wireless audio output device 104B.

[0067] If the user confirms that the electronic device 102A can access the wireless audio output device 104B, the electronic device 102B can establish connection information with the wireless audio output device 104B, for example, pairing information for subsequent connections between the electronic device 102A and the wireless audio output device 104B. The connection information can be separate and different from the connection information used by the electronic device 102B to connect to the wireless audio output device 104B. Figure 6 Connection information, such as pairing information and other exchange parameters, is discussed further. Electronic device 102B may send the connection information to electronic device 102A, for example, via a secure peer-to-peer connection.

[0068] The electronic device 102A receives connection information (508) for connecting to another wireless audio output device 104B from a neighboring electronic device 102B, such as through a secure peer-to-peer connection. In one or more specific implementations, the received connection information may be different from the connection information used by the electronic device 102A to connect to the wireless audio output device 104A. The electronic device 102A uses the connection information to connect to the wireless audio output device 104B (510). The electronic device 102A sends a message to the wireless audio output device 104B indicating that the connection is temporary. In one or more specific implementations, the electronic device 102B may provide an indication to the wireless audio output device 104B that the connection will be temporary, such as when pairing information is established. Then, the electronic device 102A may concurrently stream the first audio stream to the wireless audio output device 104A and stream the second audio stream to another wireless audio output device 104B (512).

[0069] The electronic device 102A may disconnect from another wireless audio output device 104B (514). For example, the other wireless audio output device 104B may and / or the electronic device 102A may move out of range of each other. Upon disconnection, the electronic device 102A may start a timer (516), and when the other wireless audio output device 104B does not reconnect to the electronic device 102A before the timer reaches a timeout value, the electronic device 102A may automatically and without user input delete the connection information (518). The wireless audio output device 104B may also start a timer, and when the wireless audio output device 104B does not reconnect to the electronic device 102A before the timer reaches a timeout value, the wireless audio output device 104B may automatically and without user input delete the connection information. In one or more specific implementations, the wireless audio output device 104B may reconnect to the electronic device 102B automatically and without user input when disconnected from the electronic device 102A.

[0070] Figure 6A flowchart of an example process 600 for facilitating a temporary connection between a connected wireless device and a nearby electronic device without directly pairing the devices according to one or more implementations is shown. Figure 1 Process 600 is described with reference to electronic devices 102A-B of the present invention. However, electronic devices 102A-B are presented as exemplary devices, and the operations described herein may be performed by any suitable device. Further for the purpose of explanation, the operations of process 600 are described herein as occurring sequentially or linearly. However, multiple operations of process 600 may occur in parallel or at least partially overlap. In addition, the operations of process 600 need not be performed in the order shown, and / or one or more operations of process 600 need not be performed and / or may be replaced by other operations.

[0071] Process 600 begins when electronic device 102A establishes a secure connection, such as a secure peer-to-peer connection, with electronic device 102B (602). As described above, for example, electronic device 102A may discover or detect proximate electronic device 102B when electronic devices 102A-B are within a threshold distance of each other, and electronic devices 102A-B may establish a secure connection upon discovering and / or detecting each other.

[0072] Electronic device 102A may receive a request from a proximate electronic device 102B to connect to a wireless device that is connected to electronic device 102A (604). For example, proximate electronic device 102B may request to connect to a wireless audio output device 104A connected to electronic device 102A, a wireless stylus connected to electronic device 102A, a game controller connected to electronic device 102A, or generally any wireless device connected to electronic device 102A. In one or more implementations, the wireless device may not be connected to electronic device 102A when the request is received; however, despite not being connected to electronic device 102A, the wireless device may be paired with electronic device 102A and / or may be within a particular distance of electronic device 102A. In one or more implementations, the wireless device may be associated with a user account associated with electronic device 102A, which may be different from a user account associated with electronic device 102B.

[0073] Electronic device 102A displays an indication of the request, such as to the user (606). For example, electronic device 102A may display a notification, a pop-up card, or one or more other graphical elements indicating that electronic device 102B is requesting access to the wireless device (606). The indication may request the user of electronic device 102A to confirm that electronic device 102B can access the wireless device. Electronic device 102A may receive user confirmation of the request (608). For example, the user of electronic device 102A may interact with the displayed indication to provide user confirmation.

[0074] The electronic device 102A may receive a communication address from the proximate electronic device 102B (610). The communication address may correspond to a communication address of the electronic device 102B to be used for connection with the wireless device, such as a Bluetooth Classic address. The electronic device 102A may generate a link key for the connection between the electronic device 102B and the wireless device (612). The link key may be separate and different from the link key used by the electronic device 102A to establish a connection with the wireless device. In one or more specific implementations, the electronic device 102A may initiate a pairing process with the wireless device on behalf of the electronic device 102B and / or as a proxy for it.

[0075] The electronic device 102A may send the link key, the received communication address (e.g., the communication address received from the electronic device 102B), and an indication that the connection will be temporary to the connected wireless device (614), for example, through an existing connection with the connected wireless device. The electronic device 102A may send the link key and the communication address of the wireless device to the adjacent electronic device 102B (616), such as through a secure connection. The communication address of the wireless device may be, for example, a classic Bluetooth address that may be stored locally by the electronic device 102A. Thus, through the example process 600, the electronic device 102A is able to allow the electronic device 102B to connect to the wireless device without directly pairing with the wireless device. In one or more specific implementations, it may be considered that the electronic device 102B is indirectly paired with the wireless device via the electronic device 102A.

[0076] In one or more specific implementations, after sending the link key and the communication address of the wireless device to the adjacent electronic device 102B, the electronic device 102A can terminate the secure connection with the adjacent electronic device 102B. When connected to the electronic device 102B, the wireless device can automatically disconnect from the electronic device 102A. The electronic device 102A can receive a reconnection request from the wireless device (618). The electronic device 102A can automatically and without user input reconnect to the wireless device using another link key, such as a link key previously used to connect to the wireless device (620).

[0077] Figure 7 An electronic system 700 is conceptually illustrated that can be used to implement one or more implementations of the subject technology. The electronic system 700 may be Figure 1 One or more of the electronic devices 102A-B, wireless audio output devices 104A-B, and / or server 108 shown and / or may be a part thereof. The electronic system 700 may include various types of computer-readable media and interfaces for various other types of computer-readable media. The electronic system 700 includes a bus 708, one or more processing units 712, a system memory 704 (and / or cache), a ROM 710, a permanent storage device 702, an input device interface 714, an output device interface 706, and one or more network interfaces 716, or a subset and variant thereof.

[0078] The bus 708 collectively represents all system buses, peripheral busses, and chipset buses that communicatively connect the many internal devices of the electronic system 700. In one or more specific implementations, the bus 708 communicatively connects one or more processing units 712 with the ROM 710, the system memory 704, and the permanent storage device 702. The one or more processing units 712 retrieve instructions to be executed and data to be processed from these various memory units in order to perform the processes disclosed in the present subject matter. In different specific implementations, the one or more processing units 712 can be a single processor or a multi-core processor.

[0079] ROM 710 stores static data and instructions required by one or more processing units 712 and other modules of electronic system 700. On the other hand, permanent storage device 702 can be a read-write memory device. Permanent storage device 702 can be a non-volatile memory unit that stores instructions and data even when electronic system 700 is turned off. In one or more specific implementations, a mass storage device (such as a magnetic or optical disk and its corresponding disk drive) can be used as permanent storage device 702.

[0080] In one or more specific implementations, a removable storage device (such as a floppy disk, a flash drive and its corresponding disk drive) can be used as the permanent storage device 702. Like the permanent storage device 702, the system memory 704 can be a read-write memory device. However, unlike the permanent storage device 702, the system memory 704 can be a volatile read-write memory, such as a random access memory. The system memory 704 can store any of the instructions and data that one or more processing units 712 may need at runtime. In one or more specific implementations, the processes disclosed in the subject matter are stored in the system memory 704, the permanent storage device 702, and / or the ROM 710. The one or more processing units 712 retrieve instructions to be executed and data to be processed from these various memory units in order to perform the processes of one or more specific implementations.

[0081] The bus 708 is also connected to an input device interface 714 and an output device interface 706. The input device interface 714 enables a user to transmit information and select commands to the electronic system 700. Input devices that can be used with the input device interface 714 may include, for example, an alphanumeric keyboard and a pointing device (also referred to as a "cursor control device"). The output device interface 706 may, for example, enable the display of images generated by the electronic system 700. Output devices that can be used with the output device interface 706 may include, for example, a printer and a display device, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a flexible display, a flat panel display, a solid-state display, a projector, or any other device for outputting information. One or more specific implementations may include a device that acts as both an input device and an output device, such as a touch screen. In these specific implementations, the feedback provided to the user may be any form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user may be received in any form, including acoustic, voice, or tactile input.

[0082] Finally, if Figure 7 As shown, bus 708 also couples electronic system 700 to one or more networks and / or to one or more network nodes via the one or more network interfaces 716. In this manner, electronic system 700 may be part of a computer network, such as a LAN, a wide area network ("WAN"), or an intranet, or may be part of a network of networks, such as the Internet. Any or all components of electronic system 700 may be used with the subject disclosure.

[0083] As described above, one aspect of the present technology is to collect and use data available from specific and legitimate sources to improve concurrent audio streaming to multiple wireless audio output devices. The present disclosure contemplates that, in some instances, the collected data may include personal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used to identify a specific person. Such personal information data may include demographic data, location-based data, online identifiers, phone numbers, email addresses, home addresses, data or records related to a user's health or fitness level (e.g., vital signs measurements, medication information, exercise information), date of birth, or any other personal information.

[0084] The present disclosure recognizes that the use of such personal information data in the present technology can be used to benefit the user. For example, the personal information data can be used to select / suggest devices for pairing based on the user's preferences. Therefore, the use of such personal information data allows the user to better control the devices selected / suggested for concurrent audio streaming. In addition, the present disclosure also anticipates other uses of personal information data that benefit the user. For example, health and fitness data can be used based on the user's preferences to provide insights into their overall health, or can be used as positive feedback to individuals who use technology to pursue health goals.

[0085] The present disclosure envisions that entities responsible for collecting, analyzing, disclosing, transmitting, storing or otherwise using such personal information data will comply with established privacy policies and / or privacy practices. Specifically, such entities will be expected to implement and consistently apply privacy practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding the requirements of the industry or government that maintain user privacy. Such information about the use of personal data should be prominently and easily accessible to users, and should be updated as the collection and / or use of data changes. The user's personal information should be collected only for legitimate use. In addition, such collection / sharing should only occur after receiving user consent or other legal basis specified in applicable law. In addition, such entities should consider taking any necessary steps to defend and safeguard access to such personal information data and ensure that others who have access to personal information data comply with their privacy policies and processes. In addition, such entities may subject themselves to third-party assessments to demonstrate that they comply with widely accepted privacy policies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should be adjusted for specific types of personal information data that are collected and / or accessed, and applied to applicable laws and standards, including specific considerations that are exclusive to jurisdictions that can be used to impose higher standards. For example, in the United States, collection or access to certain health data may be governed by federal and / or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); while health data in other countries may be subject to other regulations and policies and should be handled accordingly.

[0086] Regardless of the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates implementation schemes in which users selectively block the use or access of personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware elements and / or software elements may be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, with respect to concurrent audio streaming to multiple devices, the technology of the present invention may be configured to allow users to choose to "opt in" or "opt out" to participate in the collection of personal information data during or at any time after registration for the service. In addition to providing "opt-in" and "opt-out" options, the present disclosure contemplates providing notifications related to access or use of personal information. For example, a user may be notified that their personal information data will be accessed when downloading an application, and then be reminded again just before the personal information data is accessed by the application.

[0087] In addition, it is an object of the present disclosure that personal information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risks can be minimized by limiting data collection and deleting data once it is no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including in certain health-related applications, data de-identification can be used to protect the privacy of users. De-identification can be facilitated by removing identifiers, controlling the amount or specificity of stored data (e.g., collecting location data at a city level rather than at an address level), controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users), and / or other methods such as differential privacy, where appropriate.

[0088] Thus, while the present disclosure broadly covers the use of personal information data to implement one or more of the various disclosed embodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that various embodiments may also be implemented without access to such personal information data. That is, various embodiments of the present technology will not fail to function properly due to the lack of all or a portion of such personal information data. For example, concurrent audio streaming to multiple wireless audio output devices may be performed based on aggregated non-personal information data or minimal amounts of personal information (such as information processed only on the user device or other available non-personal information).

[0089] Implementations within the scope of the present disclosure may be implemented in part or in whole using a tangible computer-readable storage medium (or multiple tangible computer-readable storage media of one or more types) programmed with one or more instructions. Tangible computer-readable storage media may also be non-transitory in nature.

[0090] Computer-readable storage media can be any storage media that can be read, written, or otherwise accessed by a general or special computing device, including any processing electronics and / or processing circuitry capable of executing instructions. For example, without limitation, computer-readable media can include any volatile semiconductor memory, such as RAM, DRAM, SRAM, T-RAM, Z-RAM, and TTRAM. Computer-readable media can also include any non-volatile semiconductor memory, such as ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, NVRAM, flash memory, nvSRAM, FeRAM, FeTRAM, MRAM, PRAM, CBRAM, SONOS, RRAM, NRAM, racetrack memory, FJG, and Millipede memory.

[0091] In addition, the computer-readable storage medium may include any non-semiconductor memory, such as optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, magnetic tape, other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of storing one or more instructions. In one or more specific implementations, the tangible computer-readable storage medium may be directly coupled to the computing device, while in other specific implementations, the tangible computer-readable storage medium may be indirectly coupled to the computing device, for example, via one or more wired connections, one or more wireless connections, or any combination thereof.

[0092] Instructions can be directly executable, or can be used to develop executable instructions. For example, instructions can be implemented as executable or non-executable machine code, or can be implemented as high-level language instructions that can be compiled to produce executable or non-executable machine code. In addition, instructions can also be implemented as data, or can include data. Computer executable instructions can also be organized in any format, including routines, subroutines, programs, data structures, objects, modules, applications, applets, functions, etc. As recognized by those skilled in the art, the details including but not limited to the number, structure, sequence and organization of instructions can be significantly different without changing the underlying logic, function, processing and output.

[0093] Although the above discussion mainly involves microprocessors or multi-core processors that execute software, one or more implementations are performed by one or more integrated circuits such as ASICs or FPGAs. In one or more implementations, such integrated circuits execute instructions stored on the circuits themselves.

[0094] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the various illustrative frames, modules, elements, parts, methods and algorithms described herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software or a combination of the two. In order to illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative frames, modules, elements, parts, methods and algorithms have been generally described above according to functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the entire system. The technician can implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application. Various parts and frames can be arranged differently (e.g., arranged in different orders, or divided in different ways) without departing from the scope of the subject technology.

[0095] It should be understood that the specific order or the hierarchical structure of the frame in the process disclosed by the present invention are the illustration of exemplary methods. Based on the design preferred requirements, it should be understood that the specific order or the hierarchical structure of the frame in the process can be rearranged or all the frames shown are executed. Any frame in these frames can be executed simultaneously. In one or more specific implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. In addition, the division of each system component in the above-mentioned specific implementation should not be understood as requiring such division in all specific implementations, and it should be understood that program components and systems can be generally integrated together in a single software product or encapsulated in multiple software products.

[0096] As used in this specification and any claims of this patent application, the terms "base station", "receiver", "computer", "server", "processor" and "memory" all refer to electronic devices or other technical devices. These terms exclude people or groups of people. For the purpose of this specification, the term "display" or "displaying" means displaying on an electronic device.

[0097] As used herein, the phrase "at least one of" following a list of items, any of which is separated by the terms "and" or "or", modifies the list as a whole, rather than each member (i.e., each item) of the list. The phrase "at least one of" does not require selection of at least one of each item listed; rather, the phrase allows for a meaning that includes at least one of any one item and / or at least one of any combination of items and / or at least one of each item. For example, the phrases "at least one of A, B, and C" or "at least one of A, B, or C" each refer to only A, only B, or only C; any combination of A, B, and C; and / or at least one of each of A, B, and C.

[0098] The predicate words "configured to," "operable to," and "programmed to" do not imply any specific tangible or intangible modification of a subject matter but are intended to be used interchangeably. In one or more specific implementations, a processor configured to monitor and control an operation or component may also mean that the processor is programmed to monitor and control the operation or that the processor is operable to monitor and control the operation. Similarly, a processor configured to execute code may be interpreted as a processor programmed to execute code or operable to execute code.

[0099] Phrases such as aspect, this aspect, on the other hand, some aspects, one or more aspects, a specific implementation, this specific implementation, another specific implementation, some specific implementations, one or more specific implementations, an embodiment, this embodiment, another embodiment, some embodiments, one or more embodiments, configuration, this configuration, other configurations, some configurations, one or more configurations, subject technology, disclosure, the present disclosure, other variations thereof, etc. are for convenience and do not mean that the disclosure involving such one or more phrases is essential to the subject technology, nor does it mean that such disclosure applies to all configurations of the subject technology. Disclosures involving such one or more phrases may apply to all configurations or one or more configurations. Disclosures involving such one or more phrases may provide one or more examples. Phrases such as aspect or some aspects may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa, and this applies similarly to the other aforementioned phrases.

[0100] The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any implementation described herein as "exemplary" or as an "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "including," "having," and the like are used in the specification or claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive, in a manner similar to the way the term "comprising" is interpreted when used as a transitional word in a claim.

[0101] All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later become known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be made available to the public regardless of whether the disclosure is explicitly stated in the claims. No claim element shall be interpreted under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112(f) unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase “means for…” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is stated using the phrase “step for…”

[0102] The previous description is provided to enable those skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications of these aspects are apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are intended to make the full scope consistent with the language claims, wherein reference to elements in singular values ​​is not intended to mean "only one", but refers to "one or more", unless specifically noted. Unless otherwise specifically stated, the term "some" refers to one or more. Male pronouns (e.g., his) include female and neutral (e.g., her and its), and vice versa. Titles and subtitles (if any) are used only for convenience and do not limit the subject disclosure.

Claims

1. A method comprising: obtaining, by a first electronic device capable of streaming video content and paired with the first wireless audio output device, pairing information of a second wireless audio output device from a second electronic device capable of streaming video content, without direct communication between the first electronic device and the second wireless audio output device; Connecting, by the first electronic device, to a first wireless audio output device paired with the first electronic device; The first electronic device is connected to the second wireless audio output device based on the pairing information; as well as The audio content is streamed concurrently to the first wireless audio output device and the second wireless audio output device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting to a second wireless audio output device comprises: The first electronic device is connected to the second wireless audio output device using the pairing information while the first electronic device is paired with and connected to the first wireless audio output device. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pairing information comprises a link key generated by the second electronic device and a communication address of the second wireless audio output device. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the first electronic device is paired with the first wireless audio output device using a link key different from the link key.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the pairing information comprises: The pairing information is received in response to a request sent from the first electronic device to the second electronic device to connect to the second wireless audio output device, the request being sent in response to a user input at the first electronic device.

6. The method according to claim 1 further includes receiving, by the first electronic device, an indication from the second electronic device that when a timer started when disconnecting from the second wireless audio output device reaches a timeout value without reconnecting to the second wireless audio output device using the pairing information, the first electronic device should automatically delete the pairing information without user input.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: When the connection with the second wireless audio output device is disconnected, the first electronic device starts a timer; as well as When the timer reaches the timeout value without reconnecting to the second wireless audio output device using the pairing information, the pairing information is automatically deleted by the first electronic device without user input.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: When the connection with the second wireless audio output device is disconnected, the first electronic device starts a timer; as well as In response to detecting the second wireless audio output device after the disconnection and before the timer reaches the timeout value, automatically reconnecting to the second wireless audio output device using the pairing information by the first electronic device without user input.

9. An electronic device, comprising: Memory; as well as one or more processors, The electronic device includes a first electronic device, the electronic device is paired with a first wireless audio output device, and the one or more processors are configured to: streaming the video content to a display of the electronic device or another device; obtaining pairing information of a second wireless audio output device from a second electronic device capable of streaming video content, without direct communication between the first electronic device and the second wireless audio output device; connecting to a first wireless audio output device paired with a first electronic device; connecting to a second wireless audio output device based on the pairing information; and The audio content is streamed concurrently to the first wireless audio output device and the second wireless audio output device.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are configured to connect to the second wireless audio output device using the pairing information while the first electronic device is paired with and connected to the first wireless audio output device. 11 . The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the pairing information comprises a link key generated by the second electronic device and a communication address of the second wireless audio output device. 12 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the electronic device is paired with the first wireless audio output device using a link key different from the link key.

13. An electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the pairing information in response to a request sent from the electronic device to a second electronic device to connect to a second wireless audio output device, the request being sent in response to user input at the electronic device.

14. An electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive the following indication from the second electronic device: when a timer started when disconnecting from the second wireless audio output device reaches a timeout value without reconnecting to the second wireless audio output device using the pairing information, the electronic device should automatically delete the pairing information without user input.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Starting a timer when disconnection with the second wireless audio output device occurs; and When the timer reaches the timeout value without reconnecting to the second wireless audio output device using the pairing information, the pairing information is automatically deleted without user input.

16. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: Starting a timer when disconnection with the second wireless audio output device occurs; and In response to detecting a second wireless audio output device after the disconnection and before the timer reaches the timeout value, automatically reconnecting to the second wireless audio output device using the pairing information without user input.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: obtaining, by a first electronic device capable of streaming video content and paired with the first wireless audio output device, pairing information of a second wireless audio output device from a second electronic device capable of streaming video content, without direct communication between the first electronic device and the second wireless audio output device; Connecting, by the first electronic device, to a first wireless audio output device paired with the first electronic device; The first electronic device is connected to the second wireless audio output device based on the pairing information; as well as The audio content is streamed concurrently to the first wireless audio output device and the second wireless audio output device.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein connecting to a second wireless audio output device comprises: The first electronic device is connected to the second wireless audio output device using the pairing information while the first electronic device is paired with and connected to the first wireless audio output device.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the pairing information comprises a link key generated by the second electronic device and a communication address of the second wireless audio output device.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the first electronic device is paired with the first wireless audio output device using an additional link key different from the link key.

21. A method comprising: receiving, by an electronic device capable of streaming video content, a request from another electronic device capable of streaming video content to connect to a wireless device connected to the electronic device, wherein the wireless device is paired with the electronic device and the wireless device is not paired with the other electronic device; In response to the request, generating a link key for a connection between the other electronic device and the wireless device, the link key being different from another link key used by the electronic device to connect to the wireless device; and The link key is sent to the wireless device and the other electronic device, wherein the other electronic device is configured to initiate a connection with the wireless device based at least in part on the link key without being paired with the wireless device.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising: receiving, from the other electronic device, a communication address corresponding to the other electronic device; sending the communication address corresponding to the other electronic device to the wireless device along with sending the link key to the wireless device; as well as In conjunction with sending the link key to the other electronic device, another communication address corresponding to the wireless device is sent to the other electronic device, wherein the other electronic device is configured to initiate a connection with the wireless device based at least in part on the link key and the other communication address corresponding to the wireless device without being paired with the wireless device.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: A connection with the wireless device is initiated by the other electronic device using the link key and the communication address corresponding to the wireless device without being paired with the wireless device.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the connection initiated by the electronic device with the wireless device without pairing with the wireless device comprises a Bluetooth connection.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising: When the connection between the wireless device and the other electronic device is terminated, automatically reconnecting to the wireless device using the other link key without user input.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving, by the electronic device, a request to reconnect with the wireless device while the wireless device is connected to the other electronic device; as well as In response to receiving the request, reconnecting to the wireless device using the other link key, wherein the reconnecting disconnects the wireless device from the other electronic device.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the wireless device is configured to delete the link key used for the connection with the other electronic device after reconnecting to the electronic device.

28. A system comprising: An electronic device capable of streaming video content and comprising a memory and at least one processor, the at least one processor being configured to: providing a request for streaming audio to a wireless audio output device connected to a proximate electronic device capable of streaming video content for transmission to the proximate electronic device, wherein the electronic device is not paired with the wireless audio output device; receiving, in response to the request, from the proximate electronic device a link key for connecting to the wireless audio output device; initiating a Bluetooth connection with the wireless audio output device based at least in part on the link key without being paired with the wireless audio output device; as well as The audio is streamed to the wireless audio output device via the Bluetooth connection.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the at least one processor is configured to provide the request for transmission in response to a user request received by the electronic device via a user interface displayed by the electronic device, the user interface having an indication of the availability of the wireless audio output device, and wherein the at least one processor of the electronic device is further configured to: receiving, in conjunction with receiving the link key, a communication address for connecting to the wireless audio output device from the proximate electronic device; and The Bluetooth connection is initiated with the wireless audio output device based at least in part on the link key and the communication address without pairing with the wireless audio output device.

30. The system of claim 28, wherein the at least one processor of the electronic device is further configured to: When disconnected from the wireless audio output device, a timer is started; When a reconnection request is received from the wireless audio output device before the timer reaches a timeout value, performing one or more operations to reconnect the electronic device to the wireless audio output device using the link key; and When the timer reaches the timeout value without receiving a reconnection request from the wireless audio output device, the link key is automatically deleted without user input.

31. The system of claim 28, wherein the electronic device and the adjacent electronic device each comprise one of a laptop computer, a smart phone, a tablet device, a smart speaker, a set-top box, a content streaming device, or a watch, and wherein the wireless audio output device comprises one of headphones or earbuds.

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