We’re now coming up on three years since the Naida Lumity (Aug. 2023) came out, and it seems high time Phonak replaces this power aid. Phonak, over the last two years, has upgraded all its other hearing aids but not the Naida line. Oticon and Resound have come out with new power aids or upgrades, but Phonak is lagging. Has anyone recently talked with Phonak or a hearing aid specialist who has a feel when Phonak will replace the Naida Lumity? My Audie thought it would happen this fall, but now it looks like Phonak will drag things out into 2026.
Oticon have not come out with a new power aid. Not to my knowledge. The last aid, the Xceed, came out in 2019.
Phonak is not lagging. They came out with the Nadia Lumity SP/UP in late 2023/early 2024, which was reasonable in terms of their product/release cycle, as the Paradise SP/UP before that came out in 2020/2021.
Yes, the Resound Enzo came out recently and I have seen a good anecdotal review of it. It might be worth you trialling it.
I was Phonak Nadia user from 2009 to 2015. I switched to the Resound Enzo in 2015 and upgraded to Resound Enzo IA two months ago, they are simply the best aids I had in fifty years of wearing hearing aids.
The Naida Lumity release date was August 2023, and now we’re entering 2026. Time marches on, so I’d like to know if Phonak will release a Naida Sphere Infinio. You know it’s interesting how car manufacturers let potential new buyers know (in advance) when a new line is coming out. So anyone sitting on the fence or thinking of buying a new car can hold off until the “new model” comes out, so they can test drive, read reviews, and purchase. Of course, with manufacturers, there is never any advanced notice or even a hint when a new model aid will be released. So anyone looking to replace an old aid, or even buy a new aid, is completely in the dark regarding what future HA might or might not hit the market. CES comes out (usually) in January every year and announces new and upcoming high-tech products across the board. And it’s a really big event. Yet anyone thinking of buying a new hearing aid has no clue what’s coming down the road. Why the hearing aid industry operates in the Stone Age is beyond me, since the buying public loves to know what new products are coming for 2026, 2027, and beyond.
Everybody is as frustrated as you are, some more so. There are 6 major manufacturers and recently only 2 of them have come out with super power or ultra power hearing aids, Phonak and Resound. The Phonak version does not have the noise reduction of the Infinio, because it preceded it, and we don’t know if its successor (to the Nadia Lumity) will have the same noise reduction functionality. Resound say their new model is AI, but I’m not sure the extent to which it matches the Infinio for noise reduction.
You are not alone. There have been many on here who have expressed frustration of the lack of releases. It’s ironic that the company you are complaining about, Phonak, have probably been the one who have been of the more consistent, in my view, in their releases. However, I am not an apologist for the hearing aid manufacturers, but there are some reasons why they do not advertise or market their products like standard consumer electronics. About 30 years ago, out of frustration, I actually called the sales director of UK Widex and asked him why there was so little information. He said it was because they were not (legally) allowed to advertise their products. I cannot remember why, perhaps it was UK medical legislation. It’s interesting because I think that in the last 5 to 10 years a lot of the claims regarding hearing aids, how they are better than the competition and their performance in noise etc, have been toned down. I don’t know why, but I suspect that they may have been worried about law suits. It’s not up on the internet now, but some of the claims were ludicrous in their depiction, for example I remember Phonak Autosense, being a happy wave of seamless movement from one room to another. Manufacturers were making claims of better signal to noise ratio than others, but these claims could never be substantiated because there are no benchmarks. The only benchmarks now are the previous premium product (for comparison). From a consumer viewpoint there is no way of actually knowing what is most effective for you, other than trialling the aid and comparing it with another. Yes, hearing tracker has a comparison site with some benchmarks but that is only recent.
I think we have to consider that the R&D that goes into hearing aids is probably a hundreth, a thousandth when compared to cars, tablets, mobile phones etc. And the marketing, advertising budgets too. We have to accept as well that hearing loss is complex and whilst we may be attracted to some of the marketing that comes out, and hence the hearing aids as some kind of consumer item, in my view it doesn’t necessarily lead to the best device/solution for ones hearing needs. Sorry to sound boring, but I’ve see a lot of people on here chase devices that are no good for their loss and pick features like bluetooth at the expense of their hearing.
That said, sure, the CES model is good in my view because it attracts interest, and that interest sells hearing aids which eventually leads to more R&D. But don’t expect it to be like, say, buying a Tesla.
For what it’s worth, I only have very slightly more information than you but I probably get more direct rumors. I’m expecting a minor update in the spring, but I don’t know that it will be the SP/UP devices–could just be Sky M and PR. I doubt very much it would be sphere, just infinio.
In my experience, most users don’t notice too much of a difference between platforms at less than a 5 year gap unless there’s been some big jump.
All the above replies appreciated, but I’m in the group that says, “If a new comes out, it should be a significant upgrade” from the previous model. Not just a slight change here or there. So in real life, you buy a hearing aid and keep it for four to six years, and then want to upgrade. Give or take. But who wants to basically buy the same HA with a different name six years down the road? Not me. Case in point. The Paradise Nadia came out in Feb. 2021 and in my opinion, it was somewhat of a major upgrade over the previous “UP’ model hearing aids. Then mid-2023, Lumitiy came out, and (in my opinion) it was not much of a change from the Paradise line. Like, if I currently use the Paradise aid, why should I upgrade to Lumity? The reasons were almost nil. Now, though, entering 2026, one would hope Phonak decides to upgrade its “power up” aids far beyond the Paradise/ illumity line, which is very long in the tooth.
I’m also waiting for HA manufacturers to take advantage of additional room (aid space) by utilizing glasses or smart glasses. Just think of the extra battery storage or internal aid parts that could be located in glass temples, in addition to existing aids. And I’d bet that 75% of current hearing aid users also wear glasses, so it’s a no-brainer to somehow configure future aids with smart glass temples.
Time for aid manufacturers to start thinking outside the box.
But until that happens it would be nice if Phonak came out and mentioned any plans to replace the current Lumiity Naida line with a 2026 model.
I am not understanding your point. If in real life you keep a hearing aid for 4-6 years, why would someone who bought the Naida Paradise line in 2021-2023 (full disclosure: I am one of those) feel a need to upgrade to the Lumity a year or two later? I am still content with my Paradise aids, and have at least a few more years to go with them.
My previous aids were 8 years old when I replaced them, and the ones before that were 11 years old, but they were analog… As for eyeglass temples, I am wearing wire rims that are over 40 years old… If it ain’t broke…
I think it’s beyond the capabilities of the manufacturers to push out significant upgrades on a regular timescale so they push out minor firmware releases with marketing fluff to draw people in. They have to do this to sell devices and keep up with the competition. The latest wheeze is and /. I am not really interested in the latter, but I did manage to get an LE Audio device recently for my Intents. In the last 5 years, bluetooth and rechargeables have been a main driver. In fact, I remember Phonak pushing out one release alone just based on it being rechargeable, which left a lot of people hopping mad, as they didn’t want it, for fear of the battery dying by the end of the day.
I think in reality there are few really disruptive/outstanding releases and you have to pick and choose and discover what is best for you. I discovered that the Oticon Xceed was better for me in noise than the Lumity despite being 5 years older. I don’t agree with those who say it is old technology because the technology works and the fact that it has a set of algorithms developed 5 years ago doesn’t make it any less effective.
I don’t agree with those who say it is old technology because the technology works and the fact that it has a set of algorithms developed 5 years ago doesn’t make it any less effective.
Like modern guitar amplifiers. Just because a new model comes out, doesn’t mean the older model suddenly sounds bad. I have Marvel, Paradise and Lumity. My Marvel aids, in some circumstances, give me better speech in noise.
On the plus side, both the Paradise and Lumity are good ’s, though they are basically twins. Very little separates the two power aids, technology-wise, operationally wise. In my humble opinion, Phonak hasn’t really come out with a new Naida Up aid since February 2021. So, almost five years without a noticeable replacement.
Replacing a hearing aid is always a tough decision, and certainly a costly one. Some HA’s last years and years, while others start to decline after their warranty period. Be it user neglect, environmental issues, faulty internal parts, etc. Then you have to factor in whether the current aid still meets the user’s hearing loss, with appropriate adjustments. I’m in the camp that you keep an aid six, seven plus years and then put them in storage for back-up use. But I’m not necessarily a happy camper if the Oticon Exceed and the Paradise/Lummity aids are looking at another couple of years of collecting dust. You keep hearing about all the research and development cost that goes into hearing aids, yet I frankly don’t see the results. Seems we’re now heading from cell phones to smart glasses or some combination in the not-too-distant future. Alas, with hearing aids, I see nothing of significance on the drawing board. Not even chalk marks.
The UP aids tend to use 675 batteries (the new Resound Enzo is an exception). I have kept mine past the warranty period with no problems, but there is a point at which the manufacturer may stop supporting the model (nowadays around 7-8) years. That’s the point at which many may decide it is time to seek a replacement, if not earlier.
The fitting range on the Widex looks more comparable to the Naida SP than the Naida UP. Widex also seems to be touting the as an advanced feature! I get good use out of mine, but I have been using t-coils for decades.
With Roger On Sphere being released, you may find that upgrades to the Naida family may be non-sphere only instead to save on developments costs. It seems as though SP and UP BTE users prefer disposable batteries so I think taking this route is a safer (and less costly) path for Sonova to take.
Would a company focus on where the money is? Few people require high power hearing aids. Severe to Profound.
So they might focus on releasing new product for the large market and maximize profit
I’ve just switched to hearing aids.
My new ENZO iA hearing aids are modern. They have much better battery life than my old hearing aids. That’s a plus. Yet I’m having problems hearing and understanding words. I even don’t realize I’m being spoken to. That’s a minus.
Last couple of days I’ve used my Paradise P90R hearing aids. Just a trial. The ENZO iA are supposed to be better. Better half says they’re not.
London
