Google Pixel owners, this is the mod you’ve been waiting for. Well, one of them at least. If you’ve been disappointed by the Pixel’s lack of dual speakers, no problem — like the Nexus before it, a rooted Pixel can be tweaked via software to kidnap the earpiece for use as a second speaker.
As mentioned above, you will need a rooted Pixel to apply the mod, put together by XDA user “chdloc”.
If you want to give it a go, you’ll need to make tweaks to various XML configuration files. chdloc includes comments with the changes themselves, so if you ever need to go back and fiddle, you won’t be completely lost.
chdloc admits the mod is a work in progress and it has a number of caveats. For instance, the mod includes upping the digital gain on the earpiece to help it compete with the loudness of the normal speaker, which adds distortion some might find unacceptable.
It also messes with incoming calls (outgoing “are fine”), requiring one to switch to speakerphone.
As far as mods go, it’s not the most elegant, but it does give your Pixel a bit more multimedia punch.
Enabling Dual Speaker Audio Playback on the Pixel (XL) [XDA, via Phandroid]
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