A free app called LibrePods now brings key AirPods functionalities to Android and Linux devices, eliminating the need for an iPhone. Developed by Kavish Devar, the app reverse-engineers Apple's protocols to enable features like ear detection and adaptive transparency. It works with all AirPods models but requires specific setups on Android.
Apple's AirPods offer a basic listening experience when paired with non-Apple devices, but many advanced features remain locked without an iPhone. The free LibrePods app, created by developer Kavish Devar, changes that by unlocking capabilities such as ear detection, head gestures, and customizations on Android and Linux, as reported by Android Authority.
LibrePods achieves this by reverse-engineering the AirPods' proprietary protocols, tricking the headphones into believing they are connected to an Apple device. This allows access to device status information typically reserved for Apple's operating systems. Unlocked features include conversational awareness, which lowers volume during speech; switching between noise control modes; accurate battery levels; customizations like accessibility settings and renaming headphones; hearing aid mode; and multi-device connectivity.
The app supports all AirPods models, with full functionality on AirPods Max and recent AirPods Pro versions. However, the AirPods Pro 3's heart rate monitoring is not supported.
Installation on Android is not straightforward. Devar notes that “due to a bug in the Android Bluetooth stack,” LibrePods currently requires rooted phones with the Xposed framework. Users of OnePlus or Oppo devices on ColorOS or OxygenOS 16 can install it without rooting, though features like customizing transparency mode remain limited until rooting is done.
This development expands AirPods usability beyond the Apple ecosystem, potentially appealing to users in mixed-device environments.