Most Android phones treat Bluetooth audio as an all-or-nothing device. Either everything plays through the connected device, or nothing does. So when you connect your headphones or speakers to listen to some music, they don’t just play songs — they also blare Google Maps navigation, notification pings, and every other sound that plays on your phone. Separate App Sound is a handy Samsung feature that lets you fix this, and it does it brilliantly.
Separate App Sound solves a problem almost everyone faces
Not everything needs to be played through your headphones
The way Bluetooth audio works on most Android phones is simple. You connect your phone to a speaker, headphones, or your car’s infotainment system, and every bit of audio gets routed through that particular device.
This can be a problem when you’ve only connected a Bluetooth audio device to listen to your favorite songs or a podcast. Every time a text or a random app alert comes in, your phone blasts it through the same Bluetooth speaker or headphone. It’s one of those Bluetooth quirks most Android users simply have to live with. The only real workaround is to put the phone in silent mode, which, of course, is not always practical.
If you have a Galaxy phone, though, you can get around this with Separate App Sound. It’s a simple feature that lets you divert audio from apps to a specific audio device. So, instead of treating your Bluetooth device as all-or-nothing output, you can pick exactly which apps get to use it. Set it to Spotify or YouTube Music, and only those apps will play through your Bluetooth device. Everything else — notifications, system sounds, phone calls — will stay on your phone’s speakers where it belongs.
I find this incredibly handy when playing music on my car’s speakers. My songs aren’t interrupted by those random notification pings every few minutes. And if I pick up my phone to check a WhatsApp audio message, it plays through my phone’s speaker and not through my car’s speakers. This feature also works great if you don’t want your WhatsApp or Meet video calls to be interrupted by other system sounds. These are just a couple of examples, but you can use it however you like.
Setting it up only takes a minute
It’s not hidden, but easy to miss
Separate App Sound isn’t enabled by default, but setting it up takes less than a minute. Head to Settings > Sounds and vibration > Separate app sound and turn it on. Then, tap App to choose the app you want to redirect. You can also select multiple apps here, like YouTube, Spotify, Google Maps, and so on. Then, go to the Audio device and then choose Bluetooth device.
Once you do, your Galaxy phone will divert any audio from the specified apps to the connected Bluetooth device — whether that’s a pair of headphones or a speaker. You’ll also receive a notification every time this feature kicks in, so if you don’t want it, you can turn it off easily.
Most importantly, it works the other way around too. You can set up an app to always play audio through your phone’s speakers and not through the connected Bluetooth device. That’s actually how I use it the most. I’ve set up YouTube to play lullabies for my 1-year-old through my phone’s speakers while I catch up on Instagram Reels through my headphones.
Samsung phones come with plenty of useful audio features like this
There’s more to discover
Separate App Sound is just one example. Samsung phones are full of such audio features you won’t find on most other Android phones. For instance, Adapt Sound is a feature that lets you create a personalized sound profile. You can fine-tune audio based on your age, hearing abilities, and personal preferences.
Music Share is another good one. It lets your friends use their Galaxy phones to play audio to a Bluetooth device connected to yours. That means you don’t have to hand over your phone to let them play something, nor do you have to unpair and pair the Bluetooth device to your friend’s phone.
Then there’s Dual Audio, which lets you connect and play audio through two Bluetooth devices at once. It’s handy when you’re watching a movie with your partner and neither of you wants to share an earbud.
Installing Good Lock’s Sound Assistant modules unlocks a couple of more useful tricks. Its Multi Sound feature lets you set a second app to play audio even when another app is already playing.
Sound Assistant also lets you customize volume level for different apps. This means if you prefer Spotify loud, but like watching Instagram Reels or YouTube videos at a slightly lower volume, you don’t have to keep adjusting volume levels as you switch apps.