- Kavish Devar, 15, created LibrePods to enable full AirPods features on Android and Linux
- LibrePods mimics Apple protocols to unlock features like ear detection and noise control
- The app supports all AirPods models, with newer ones offering the most advanced functions
A GitHub tweet has pushed a weeks-old tech story back into global attention: The work of 15-year-old Kavish Devar, who has built an app that brings full AirPods functionality to Android and Linux devices - for free. LibrePods, the open-source project created by Devar from Gurugram, promises the kind of seamless AirPods experience on Android that until now was reserved for Apple devices - and users are calling it "a quiet rebellion" against closed ecosystems.
A 15-year-old student broke the Apple ecosystem. 👀
— GitHub (@github) December 7, 2025
While studying for board exams, Kavish Devar reverse-engineered AirPods to bring key features like ear detection and conversational awareness to Android.
The project is called LibrePods, and it's open source. 🔓 pic.twitter.com/90oqj4CBYH
LibrePods - available publicly on GitHub - tricks Apple's proprietary protocol into believing an Android (or Linux) device is an Apple product. The result: features like ear detection, noise control toggles, head-gesture controls, accurate battery status, hearing-aid mode, and even conversational-awareness (volume lowering when you speak) become available on AirPods when paired with non-Apple devices.
The Verge, which first reported the development, describes it as a breakthrough that "unlocks features like ear detection, head gestures, and customisations" on non-Apple operating systems.
What LibrePods Does
Apple's AirPods typically offer only basic audio playback when paired with Android or Linux devices. LibrePods changes that by reverse-engineering Apple's proprietary protocols, making the earbuds "think" they are connected to an Apple device. This allows the app to pull device-status information that Apple usually reserves for iOS, macOS and its wider ecosystem - as reported by The Verge.
With LibrePods installed, Android and Linux users gain access to:
- Ear detection
- Head-gesture controls
- Adaptive transparency and hearing-aid modes
- Noise-control switching
- Accurate battery data
- Customisation options, including accessibility settings and renaming
- Conversational awareness, which lowers audio automatically while the user speaks
- Multi-device connectivity
The app supports all AirPods variants, newer models - particularly AirPods Pro (2nd and 3rd gen) and AirPods Max - enjoy the richest feature set. Older models deliver basic functionality such as battery-level readouts and ear detection.
GitHub's project description reads: "LibrePods unlocks Apple's exclusive AirPods features on non-Apple devices... all the premium features you paid for but Apple locked to their ecosystem."
Who Is Kavish Devar?
Little is publicly known about Devar's full personal background beyond the fact that he is in high school and based in Gurugram. But his coding abilities are already beyond his years. According to a report in The Financial Express, he taught himself programming and reverse-engineered Apple's closed protocols from scratch.
The GitHub repository under his name - with clear documentation and open-source licensing - reveals a thoughtful approach. Its README lists supported devices, explains which AirPods models offer full or partial functionality, and outlines the technical requirements (on many phones, root access and the Xposed framework are needed for full features).
Devar's stated mission is simple: to give Android and Linux users the same rich experience that Apple devices provide - and to challenge the limitations imposed by tech giants. "LibrePods unlocks Apple's exclusive AirPods features on non-Apple devices," the repository reads.
The renewed attention has thrust Devar into global tech conversations - and highlighted how determined young developers continue to challenge the boundaries of closed consumer technology.
