Bluetooth audio in Linux is strangely good in a point: LDAC support. Windows/macOS doesn't support LDAC but (GNU/)Linux has ported LDAC support from Android.
Oh... and integration with my devices too. I use hand-off to take calls from my phone on my MBPr all the time. I also use the Keynote app on my phone which controls the application on my laptop. The sync features I don't use as much only because I trust their cloud about as far as I can throw it.
I don't remember Bluetooth or any device integration working well or at all on any Linux distro I've tried. Maybe that has changed but that kind of stuff is nice!
And when it's easy enough for older folks, they're also generally better for even savvier users.
I like hacking around a Linux workstation as much as the next nerd, but when I put BT headphones in my ears to listen to a podcast, I want it to just work.
That said, every so often I need to toggle my iPhone's bluetooth switch in Settings. Even Apple's software isn't 100%.
In fairness, Bluetooth is a bit of a train wreck. Bluetooth on FreeBSD is pretty much unmaintained these days. OpenBSD gave up on it entirely and purged the Bluetooth code.
So the fact that newer versions of Bluetooth (there is like, what? 4 versions?) work at all on Linux counts as an accomplishment.
I don't use Bluetooth. I even use my DualSense controller wired.
A true UNIX is hard to beat. I grew up with macOS and was devastated when my Mac broke & couldn't afford a new one. Been despising Windows for the past ~1.5 years. OpenBSD is nothing like macOS, but it is still UNIX.
Bluetooth is quite amazing in general. What it is capable of with extremely low energy usage is just mind blowing really.
I think the main reason it gets a bad rap (e.g. vs WiFi) is that the radio link is conflated with all of the messiness of codec/protocol compatibility and features provided over said radio link.
If there were standards for devices to stream audio over WiFi links, I imaging we'd see nearly similar frustrations in codec, latency and compatibility issues - it's incredibly complex.
Much respect to the engineers out there who make it a good experience. I personally tried my hand at tackling wide-band speech support with PulseAudio etc [1] and I was humbled by the complexity present in the protocol/codec layers.
Hats off to the teams at both PulseAudio and PipeWire who have brought wide band speech support to Linux Desktops :)
void linux which opted for runit over systemd has bluetooth configurable via bluetoothctl or blueman-applet so seems this is a thing. That said bluetooth is kind of flaky.
You may get a better result with a device that has a usb dongle. Logitech models reportedly work. The Corsair unit I just bought works well for instance.
I've been using bluetuith for a couple of months now and it's worked pretty well. It's a TUI, not a CLI, which makes a lot easier/faster to use than bluetoothctl.
Some controls are a bit weird, but they're all right there on screen anyway, so not hard to remember. It works fine, which is more than I can say for any other bluetooth UI.
Bluemon + pulseaudio + pavucontrol has served me well for years.
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