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Samsung Galaxy S21 and Bluetooth 5.2

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You’re absolutely right that the S21 has a plastic back. That’s a notable change for Samsung. If the S21 is small enough for you, I wouldn’t worry about the plastic back.

I think it’s impossible to say. I wouldn’t expect much difference other than size of the screen. The plus will have a bigger battery, but it will take more power to run a bigger screen. They should both stream similarly to hear your hearing aids. Assuming you like the size of the S21 better, I’d get it. If for some reason you’re not happy with it, you’ve got at least 2 weeks to return if I read T-Mobile’s policey correctly.

Hello, I have Cochlear Nucleus 7, and want the new Samsung Galaxy s21 but the Cochlear Nucleus website doesn’t list it yet as compatible. You would think this fantastic new phone would have everything in it, but the Cochlear Nucleus just haven’t listed it as compatible?

Any way I can check into this so I can purchase it?

Thank you,
Pauline

I would think it’s compatible. Thoughts.

  1. Call Samsung and ask if the S21 is compatible.
  2. Go to somebody that sells the S21 and ask to try it out and see if it works.
  3. If unable to confirm, don’t buy without the ability to return the phone.

In reply to @pjgaeta

The Samsung S21 is Android 10 or higher.
It is compatible with your N7 and the K2 processors.
My Google Pixel 3 is Android 10 or higher and compatible with Cochlear N7 and K2 processors.

Wow! I guess that demonstrates a pretty weak commitment to . I would be pretty surprised if Pixel 4A, 4A 5G and 5 weren’t compatible though and they’re not on the list. I always advise people not to commit unless they know it works. I think Marvel and Paradise are going to be tough to beat for awhile if one wants more generalized direct streaming. I think it’s still going to be quite a few years before we have the kind of compatibility where stuff “just works.” I think it will be glitchy for awhile and one needs to be willing to reboot and troubleshoot on occasion.

My guess is that it probably is compatible, but as long as it’s not on the compatibility list Oticon aren’t going to do much to help you make it work. Anyway, I wouldn’t buy a S21 for my Oticon aids without seeing it working first.

Bluetooth® hearing aid support is stated here51. I think that page covers all S21 models. So I don’t think Samsung dropped support for AHSA streaming. It may not be working properly of course. GE Resound don’t list S21 phones in their compatibility list either.

Strange. I also don’t get why all 3 (S21, Plus and Ultra) have the 888 chipset, but according to their specs, only the Ultra supports 5.2

I heard from a Resound rep that the ONE would support Bluetooth 5.2 with a future software update, as was mentioned earlier.

But I asked them about if there was a microphone for true hands free streaming, and the ONE unfortunately does not have that.

I’m hoping the next Resound has this, as Phonak uses it, and it’s one feature the new version of low energy wireless is able to support.

I also hope the next generation iPhone or even iPhone 12 support 5.2. But I wasn’t able to get confirmation from Apple since it’s a future product spec.

I am hoping that Cochlear considers it as they develop the next generation of processor as well. The Kanso 2 was released on time true to previous timelines of release. If the release schedule continues to be followed for the next Cochlear device, it hopefully would be released later this year since the N7 was released in 2017 and the BTE devices follow a 4 year release schedule (N6 was released in 2013).

Not sure what you’re saying about microphone and hands free streaming. The ONE does not support hands free streaming by itself, but with a Phone Clip+ it should and I would think a MultiMic would work too. Really hard to guess when phones will support 5.2. I’d say there’s a decent chance the iPhone 13 might. More confident of iPhone 14.

Thanks for asking to clarify. Phonak hearing aids allow for hands free calling without accessories because the classic Bluetooth specification is used. Bluetooth 5.2 Low Energy Audio will allow for Resound and any hearing aids to use hands-free calling. Yes, I’m aware of accessories supporting that, but it really makes a big difference to me when there’s support on the hearing aid to speak into it. So, Phonak has this, but since I have a Cochlear device, I use Resound hearing aids and they do not since the existing specification does not allow for that. This is one of the benefits of the new technology. But in order to support this specific benefit the hearing aid needs to be equipped to handle it (by having it on the hearing aid to speak into), and according to a Resound rep, that won’t be the case for the ONE, so hopefully future devices will. I personally would be really appreciative. I realize not everyone wants to use it but enough people do.

@d_Wooluf said:

I’d definitely want true hands free streaming in my next aids.

After having the Phonak Marvel aids and real deal hands free phone calls I sure miss that with Cochlear implants. It took a few mess ups walking away from the phone to realize I had to have the phone in front of my face. Would love to see Cochlear and other manufacturers join the hands free phone call route. It really is nice.

Yeah, but I’m hoping the next generation of Resound will have this functionality. Oh! I found that the bluetooth website has the list of types of Bluetooth supported by each device. It mentions 5, 5.1, 5.2, etc. But doesn’t mention (at least at this point). My thought was that LE Audio may not be supported by a 5.2 product by default, it’s by choice. Maybe I’m wrong. The Resound ONE lists 5.2 though

https://launchstudio.bluetooth.com/Listings/Search15

Resound ONE: 5.2
iPhone 12 line: 5.1
Apple Watch 6 and SE: 5.0
Cochlear Kanso 2: 5.0 (seems like they should’ve had an update)
Cochlear Nucleus 7: 4.2 (Weird, since Kanso 2 is based on the Nucleus 7)

Cochlear 6 Max (not Cochlear implant but another Cochlear product) has 5.2!!!

Interesting that the ONE is listed as having 5.2 support even though it will require a firmware update to get 5.2. Maybe this firmware update is only for the LE Audio form of 5.2?

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