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What you need to know

• Currently, the user interface for switching audio inputs in Android is disjointed and varies by app, or absent altogether in some cases.

• Android 16 could make the OS more consistent by introducing a system-wide audio toggle.

• The new UI, still in its early stages, would make Android 16 behave more like Windows 11.

Android may take some notes from Windows 11. Google may be preparing a Android 16 feature that introduces a system-wide audio switch that would, among other things, make it possible to use an external microphone input in any Android app.

Mishaal Rahman discovered the latest code Android 15 QPR1 Beta 3 release that adds an audio input section to the current switch that has been a staple since Android 11 (via Android Authority). Rahman managed to enable this feature and you can see what it will look like in Android 16 in the screenshots below.

The first screenshot illustrates how apps that support external microphones in Android 15 handle input switching. It is required for the application developer to use MediaRecorder APIand few apps support it. So a system-wide Android media dialog entry switch would be useful, but as the second screenshot shows, Android 15 currently only supports audio output modification. The final screenshot, on the far right, serves as an example of how audio switching could work in Android 16, which could add a separate section for changing audio input.

Rahman notes that while Android 16’s media switcher was visible, it didn’t work properly. Changing the system audio input did not allow the use of an external microphone on an Android phone. From the first version of the dialogue refers to “This computer” instead of “This phone,” Rahman suspects that this feature is designed specifically for computers running Android.

With Android 16 still a long way off, it’s unclear if this version of the media switcher will make it to the public update rollout or which devices will be supported. System-wide support for external microphones would be extremely useful for high-end tablets and PCs running Android and a little less for phones. However, a default switch would remove the need for developers to use the MediaRecorder API, thus making the experience of using external audio inputs across the platform more consistent and simplified.