Using Fast Pair on Android is a terrific convenience. It saves you from tapping and swiping your way through menus to pair up your Bluetooth accessories. But if you don't use said Bluetooth accessories, you probably aren't thrilled with the random toast prompts that appear when a Fast Pair-capable device nearby goes up for pairing. With Android 14, you may not have to deal with those prompts anymore if the first developer preview provides any indication.
Made possible through Google Play services, Fast Pair has been an always-on feature using Bluetooth Low Energy to scan for accessories ready to pair. If the user decides to pair, full-power Bluetooth would be used to do so.
Prolific Android journalist Mishaal Rahman notes that Google considered bringing a toggle for Fast Pair with the Android 13 developer previews and betas, but dropped it for Beta 3.
So, maybe it's a little early to say that the return of the Fast Pair toggle in Android 14 Developer Preview 1 will be a long-lived experiment this time around. But it's here — below you'll see the system menu when you head to Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences. The dark mode screenshot shows what's currently seen on that menu while the light mode screenshots show the addition of a Fast Pair menu and said toggle.
You'll also notice a selection called Saved devices, but tapping on it does nothing, even when we paired our Pixel Buds — presumably paired devices are automatically considered saved, but we'll chalk that one up as a loose end in the developer preview.
In short, if you don't want your phone picking up on a bunch of random Fast Pair accessories you happen to be proximate to — it's a rare occurrence but some people are prone to it — this toggle may be a blessing. Technological courtship is overrated, anyway.