Pair with companion phone app

1. What is pair with companion phone app?
2. What is companion device manager app on Android phone?
3. How does device pairing work?

What is pair with companion phone app?

On devices running Android 8.0 (API level 26) and higher, companion device pairing performs a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi scan of nearby devices on behalf of your app without requiring the ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION permission. This helps maximize user privacy protections.

What is companion device manager app on Android phone?

Companion device profile, introduced in Android 12, is a feature that allows companion apps to request a set of permissions specific to the type of the companion device, for example, a smartwatch.

How does device pairing work?

When devices pair up, they share their addresses, names, and profiles, and usually store them in memory. The also share a common secret key, which allows them to bond whenever they're together in the future. Pairing usually requires an authentication process where a user must validate the connection between devices.