tldr;
i need an always on, always connected music player that connects to Bluetooth speakers.. without a battery
I have built-in bt speakers in some bedroom furniture. they have a remote that controls volume, play, and pause. they're really meant to connect to an 'always-on' device like a tv. when i connect my phone, they loudly exclaim "bluetooth connected", and "bluetooth disconnected" when the phone bt is turned off or if the phone leaves the area. i like to fall asleep to some relaxing stuff and when i leave in the morning, it of course, wakes up my wife. no good.
i've been using a tiny, old android phone (kitkat), always on, always connected. i have a playlist of 50 things that are played randomly and in an infinite loop, but turns off with a timer set from the remote. the remote works well. but, i don't like have a charging battery next to the bed all day and night. AND, i'm not thrilled about the old ass phone that i can't really do anything with.
so, i'm totally overwhelmed with options. i've been looking at all kinds of things that just don't 'do it'. i have been using pi(s) for years (easy stuff, like pihole, basic lan based server with docker, other small projects) , but this is a new uncharted category for me.
- 1 anyone know if the remote ( pause and play ) will work with the bt on a pi? it works with a phone. i believe it even worked with my pc.
- 2 what are some apps that will fit this scenario? it would be cool to have maybe web access to the player
- 3 what pi would work best? music only. seems like a pie zero 2 w would work.
- 4 are there any kits? anything ready built? <-- would love this option
thanks for reading
So it’s a whacky idea but hear me out!
Theres people in the community working on using a Pi5 and the pi touch screen 2 to make things like apple car play work: https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2024/home-assistant-and-carplay-pi-touch-display-2
This could then give you a touch screen interface to Apple Music or Spotify etc etc. Your device itself would always be connected to the Bluetooth but your phone would connect to and from the pi hopefully not announcing its connection status.
It also appears you can do this with Android too: https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/diy-in-car-entertainment-display/
Sounds interesting. Maybe perfect for my use case. I'll look into it today. Thanks for taking the time to mention it.