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LE Audio and the Future of Hearing

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In reply to @d_Wooluf

@d_Wooluf said:

Various bits of LE Audio are planned for 3.3 and 3.4. We can all hop on Github and watch Oticon’s LE Audio development unfold in real time. It doesn’t sound like it’s going to happen tomorrow. Is there anyone out there that can put all of this in perspective?

No that isn’t Oticon SW/FW development tree.

They can build their own version of on top of that OS which isn’t open source.

So what was that? Open source software for Oticon More? Flash your hearing aids with open source software; what could go wrong? :>)

Edited

Zephir is an open source RTOS (RealTimeOperatingSystem).
It has nothing to do with HW initialization. It provides the possibility to implement time-critical tasks that run in parallel, it also provides task timing, intertask communication via semaphores and so on.
It is very common to use an RTOS in embedded systems.
The HAL (HardwareAccessLayer) for the specific HW platform must always be implemented by the software developer writing the application.

Doesn’t look like they are ready for BTLE audio in the new Real if they are still developing it.
EDIT:
Just read the job description once again. Didn’t realize it was from August '21.
So they might be ready for BTLE audio with the Real.

Edited

No Kernel actually initializes the hardware to be ready to be used… I was trying to simplify it for our average users. I already know all that…

Edit:
In embedded hardware for space constraint. like hearing aid, there is no chainloading firmware, the kernel is the first thing it boot up, which jumps to init() and starts reading the device tree embedded in the firmware (DTB) which contains data about hardware itself, starts the load it to memory, then initisalizes the hardware directly then RTOS can proceed booting, then more hardware can init later if it is not critical to booting up the kernel. user level services can start up, including service/ MFI/ , amplication services, noise supression, audiology programnming, debugginge etc etc…

So Cochlear claims compatibility for their Nucleus 8? Per sig it has BT 5.3, but not BAP or CAP. I think that’s where Resound Omnia is too. Oticon’s latest listing is the More in 2021.

Edited

They said in a future FW update, all they said “ready for next generation ”, it is likely N8 is running Resound Omnia radio platform (LEWIS 7) and will likely to get it at the same time because GN’s LEWIS team shares R&D resources with Cochlear Ltd.

Discover exciting new ways to stream audio directly to your sound processor. Ready for next-generation Bluetooth technology,^ you will be able to connect to what’s being broadcast in public venues such as airports, schools, sports clubs and gyms which support Bluetooth ™.

^When the technology becomes available for the Cochlear Nucleus 8 Sound Processor, a firmware update to your sound processor will allow you to connect to Bluetooth LE Audio compatible devices.

Just got new Samsung Galaxy S23. In NRF Connect it says yes to Supported and 2 max connected audio devices. Says NO to LE Audio Broadcast Source and Broadcast Assistant supported.
Really have no idea what that means, but it sounds hopeful for future compatibility.

I think the 2 max connected audio devices might be for Classic audio. There should be no limitation with . Another complication is that Samsung seems think it more important that they get spatial audio from their buds than that they stream LE Audio to their buds. So LE Audio support in a Samsung phone may not be what we expect. Anyway, a Reddit topic for you:

https://www.reddit.com/r/samsung/comments/116q7g9/does_the_le_audio_toggle_work_properly_for_anyone/11

Thanks for Reddit post. Pretty sure 2 Max connected audio devices is as it’s in a separate area. Maybe “receivers” like hearing aids can have multiple connections, but “senders” like a phone may not necessarily? It’s a nice phone regardless.

There’s always a bandwidth limit I guess. I don’t know how many connections it would take to get there for a smartphone. Dependent on the bitrate for the individual streams. I know there’s no hard upper limit for number of connections built into the spec because I’ve seen discussions on 1-many scenarios where broadcast mode is deemed inappropriate for security/privacy/commercial reasons. Multiple secure connections is the answer- probably on dedicated hardware.

Samsung might deem 2 connections a safe limit. Glad you like the phone. I still have no clue what phones do what. I did see a reviewer claim that he’d used to stream from a OnePlus phone to OnePlus buds.

I don’t have any LE audio devices to test it with. OnePlus news is certainly promising, but I’d have more faith if they were using a different brand earbud. Actual differences I can perceive in the new phone compared to my 4 year old S10e are often subtle. Display is definitely brighter and screen is remarkable at hiding fingerprints. Camera responds more quickly and a telephoto is a nice addition. 5G does not seem to make a difference although T-Mobile tech claims 5G phones tend to have more reliable connection. Will see. Phones seem especially tricky as different phones are available in different markets. One thing about Big 5 in hearing aids is that they seem to market worldwide.

In reply to @MDB

@MDB said:

Says NO to LE Audio Broadcast Source and Broadcast Assistant supported.

Broadcast is Bluetooth and rboadcast Assistant is the auracast channel chooser , your earbu—cough hearing aid will connect directly to it but you have to use the broadcast assistant on device with a screen or some kind of interactive input device…

Screenshot 2023-02-20 at 7.27.37 AM

So basically those two “Nos” mean that at least for now, it doesn’t support ?
Can you comment on the “2 Max connected audio devices?” Perhaps that’s just another way of saying it doesn’t support Auracast?

In reply to @MDB

@MDB said:

So basically those two “Nos” mean that at least for now, it doesn’t support Auracast?

Yes. It just means your phone does not support broadcasting or showing/choosing the device you want to connect,.

@MDB said:

Can you comment on the “2 Max connected audio devices?” Perhaps that’s just another way of saying it doesn’t support Auracast?

No it does not mean that. this means 2 pairs can be connected at the same time. you can choose to broadcast or secure 1-2 connection,

basically Radio vs a phone call

Sorry for being dense. Are you saying it has the option of broadcasting to many devices (but not secured OR to one or two secured connections? I think that’s what you mean by radio vs phone call. Thanks.

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