AirPods are popular among most iPhone users. However, if you use them with an Android phone to listen to music or take calls, you miss out on some of their features: the inability to monitor the battery level of your AirPods natively is one of them.
But fret not. We'll show you a quick and easy way to see your AirPods battery on Android.
Check Your AirPods Battery on Android Using OpenPods
Apple's AirPods feature an LED on the charging case. Among other things, it's there to give you a general sense of the battery level on your AirPods: green means fully charged, whereas amber indicates there's less than a single full charge remaining.
As you can see, though, this isn't very reliable since you don't get to see the actual battery levels. And hence, it warrants the need for a dedicated app.
OpenPods is one such app. It lets you monitor your AirPods battery on your Android device easily. OpenPods is free and open-source, and you can download it directly from the F-Droid app store—and not the official Play Store—due to licensing reasons.
Alternatively, you can download its APK file from the F-Droid website and install it manually using our guide to sideloading apps on Android.
Download: F-Droid (Free)
Download: OpenPods (Free)
Set Up and Use OpenPods
With OpenPods installed on your phone, launch the app and grant it access to all the required permissions. OpenPods will minimize, and an AirPods icon will appear in the device's status bar.
Pull down the notification panel. Here, you'll see a notification for OpenPods. Tap on the downward-pointing arrow on this notification to expand it.
OpenPods will show you the connected AirPods and the charge they hold. If the AirPods are out of their charging case and the case is also open, you'll see the battery levels for both the earbuds and the charging case. On the other hand, if you've only got the AirPods out of the charging case, OpenPods will show the battery levels of the left and right earbuds alone.
Lastly, when you put the AirPods back into the charging case and close it, OpenPods understands they're not connected and doesn't show you the battery status. However, the moment you flip the case open and the AirPods connect to your phone, the app sees your AirPods are connected and shows you its battery levels again.
Of course, this means OpenPods continues to run in the background even when your AirPods aren't connected, which translates to increased battery consumption. However, OpenPods offers a battery-saver option—accessible from the app's settings—that you can enable if you feel the app's consuming too much battery.
Easily Know When Your AirPods Run Out of Charge on Your Android Phone
OpenPods makes checking the battery levels of your AirPods on Android quite simple. Using it, you can easily keep a tab on when your AirPods run out of battery. That way, you can charge them in time and have them ready for use when you need them later.
Although AirPods work with Android just fine, the lack of built-in support for showing the battery level is one of a few quirks you have to deal with.