Philips HearLink 9050 to hit Costco soon? With similar tech to Oticon Intent?

A few days ago I had my follow-up 9040 HA follow-up at Costco. I asked the specialist if he knew when Costco would have the 9050 and he said he had no idea and they haven’t been told anything. However, he did know of the 9050. He confirmed I could return the 9040 within the 6 month window and buy the 9050. But he said Costco might have a problem with re-buying the 9040 if I didn’t like the 9050 and returned it. He recommended buying the 9050 before returning the 9040 and decide which one I like better.

I finally found my answer. trade mark. I was wondering if the 9050’s would allow hands free calling with newer Android phones like my S23 Samsung. Philips says yes on phones with LE Audio, which includes the S23 series and newer. That is what I have been waiting for!!!

That’s what I did when I swapped rechargeable Pro 10s for disposable battery Pro 10s. I didn’t need a long time to decide to keep the 13 battery version.

The refund for the 1st pair hit my account the same month the charge for the new pair did, so I didn’t have to shell out any cash for the 2nd pair. If one keeps both pairs for a more than 2 months (or something like that), one might have to pay for both pairs before getting the credit for the one that gets returned. IOW, the purchase of the 2nd pair affects how much you can charge that month, but it won’t hit your cash if you act reasonably quickly.

I also have been waiting to see which android phones will connect with the 9050s. How did you find out if the 9050s would connect with the S23 Samsung? Good detective work!

Bluetooth 5.2 will support it, but the manufacturer needs to implement it.

I picked up my 9040s today and will report after I have tested them in various situations. I have noticed that the world is now a slightly louder place.

I asked the Hearing Aid Technician about the 9050s. She said she was told they would not have them until late this year or early next year.

I’m anxious to see how the 9050’s do with live music like guitar playing. I have the 9030’s and I have not found the right changes ( I DIY) to allow the HA to not cause an out of tune type sound when playing higher notes, say 9th fret and above. I have two custom programs with the usual live music type of recommended changes but neither one works for all music. They are far better than the general program for my guitar playing however. I had to turn the gains way down with really high frequency notes and might as well not have HA at that point.

@DrBob said:

She said she was told they would not have them until late this year or early next year.

@AbramBaileyAuD said:

That would be a surprise!

Not really. It could be in Costco next month or in 6 months.

A number of Costco HCPs have told me that delays often occur due to negotiations between Costco & the manufacturer. If the new Philips HearLink is as advanced as it appears, Demant may not be willing to sell it at the current price. In fact the current price structure at Costco is a departure from what it was just a few years ago. Demant may want to return to a price of $2500 - or more.

Yes I’m sure my damaged ears play into all this in a big way. I just activated another thread on music and hearing loss and posted what I found out today with the hifi program, which really boosts the low and high frequencies a lot over the general program. I had to make some extreme gain reductions but I think I have something that brightens the guitar over turning the aids off while not sounding out of tune or shrill. It’s a compromise but much better than nothing. I’ve been wearing hearing aids about 1 1/2 years now and I’m mostly at 100% of the prescription setting with some minor hi freq reductions. I still find my voice a bit shrill at times and maybe slightly boomy even with the bass open domes but my brain has done a lot of adjusting over time. I need to get a new prescriptive starting point at Costco soon and I plan to try a different more accommodating fitter there but will still DIY for programs other than the general one. It’s been a long journey, lol. Lot’s of help from you and others like you have made it possible…thanks!!!

They are BT 5.4 certified, same as Oticon’s Intents and listed alongside them [and bunch of other rabrands] on Bluetooth Consortium page.
I think that ATM they’re the best equipped to handle LE Audio/Auracast.
I would consider them but the form factor seems annoying [I’m wearing Signia’s Stylettos AX atm]

I asked about it, and the audi said they’d get at least 24 hours notice. IIRC, the 9040 was announced about a year ago and available from Costco in June or July. Maybe the 9050 is on that schedule.

What I find interesting about the Intent is their new ACT (Audible Contrast Threshold) testing as an adjunct to audiograms. This is a test for hearing speech in noise and gives a score that can be input into their fitting software. They describe it on the Oticon professional web site. The concept is two people with identical audiograms could have different ACT scores. Then the fitting software would take this into account.

However would Costco get the new equipment to do these tests?

Are you able to hear phone calls through your hearing aids with your s23 phone?
I’m not. My audiologist tried a multitude of things, even calling Philips and going through a round of settings, reboots, etc… but with no success. So I have to turn off my Bluetooth to be able to answer my phone because the call won’t go through my HA’s.

Try unpairing those aides, forget those aids, remove the Phillips app from your phone.
Then boot your phone and reload the Phillips app.
Go through the re-pairing process.