Quite a good article about it here. Both transmitting and receiving hardware need to be certified by Qualcomm and it’s debatable whether most people with normal hearing (let along those on this forum) will notice any difference. That debate is never-ending however.
IIRC, Qualcomm charges a premium licensing fee, too, for the use of its aptX Adaptive codecs so excellent sound quality won’t come cheap! (and perhaps one could say, Oh! It comes with a chipset… Qualcomm charges a premium for its high-end chipsets, too!).
Bluetooth® technology stripped away the hassle of wires on headphones, speakers, and more, revolutionizing audio and changing the way we consume media and experience the world. Now, we stand on the…
The European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA) represents the major European hearing instrument manufacturers, offering smart hearing aid and implant solutions for people with…
They seem to concentrate on audio sharing and broadcasting as the big selling points. For me, interoperability of devices is almost as big. Like the possibility of table top microphones that communicate with all of the hearing aids around the table regardless of who makes them.
They seem to concentrate on audio sharing and broadcasting as the big selling points.
Quote from web page cited by Spindel:
The transmitters for assistive listening are provided by some specialized companies that also need to develop and market their products before it all comes together.
I don’t think the OEMs want to get down and dirty and compete openly in the wearable market and be able to have any old company in China make accessory devices, etc. They like having a restricted market of MEDICAL DEVICES, as the article Spindel quotes emphasizes the controlled, medical nature of HA devices. Accessibility for broadcast scenarios is something that can be sold big (airport, auditoriums, convention centers, etc.) at a nice profit and still undercut very expensive /loop systems. And if they get the technology put in every TV and smartphone made, they are going to make a lot of money there on licensing, too, e.g., all Samsung TV sets, all LG TV sets, Android and Apple phones, etc. (sorry - don’t really know what’s open source and what’s going to be charged a licensing fee but I imagine the software/firmware developers involved are not doing it on a strictly for charity basis). Maybe this is going off topic, but is there even an inkling of HA’s on the horizon in Europe? I’d say there’s more hope that is going to make it into interoperability amongst devices and their accessories in the OTC HA market in the U.S., if it ever gets going.
I don’t think anybody really knows how this is going to play out, but I’m not sure hearing aid manufacturers are going to have much choice. Once they agree to a standard, they lose a certain amount of control. Phonak lost some control by using Classic Bluetooth. People can use any bluetooth microphone they want. However, there are still glitches exemplified by people’s challenges connecting with other Classic Bluetooth Devices (I think related to driver issues) I doubt is going to eliminate bluetooth glitches. If this plays out like it did with Bluetooth 5, I’d expect the phones to start trickling out, followed eventually by compatible devices.
Accessibility for broadcast scenarios is something that can be sold big
A few hundred bucks is what I read somewhere. You probably paying more for the guy who does the cabling. Samsung et al will still pay licensing fees to Bluetooth SIG like they do now for Classic Bluetooth. Nothing to do with hearing aid companies. It’s gone well beyond that now.
I’m not sure hearing aid manufacturers are going to have much choice. Once they agree to a standard, they lose a certain amount of control.
Yes. I wonder if they envisioned the scope of the thing when they went to the Bluetooth SIG with their proposal in 2013 My gleanings from the various videos and articles I’ve seen is that they’re prepared to sacrifice sales of accessories for increased sales of hearing devices. By 'merging with the mainstream, hearing aids become cool and desirable to the 90% or whatever of people who might benefit from hearing aids but don’t currently have them. You start to wonder whether the hearing aid companies forecast their long-term decline 10 years ago or more and took steps to reinvent themselves. Fiendishly clever if true.
SoCal
