LE Audio and the Future of Hearing

I am currently streaming Spotify crystal clear on my Galaxy S23 Ultra and Jabra Enhance Pro 20s. I can answer calls by tapping twice on my left ear. I can talk through my hearing aids with my phone in the next room. The person on the other end of the line can hear me clearly. I am using the recent February 15th version of the app. I just picked up my hearing aids today. The Bluetooth connection says LE Audio.

I just received this in my inbox this morning.

Auracast™ retrofit transmitters.

Here’s the video.

ABI Snapshot – Auracast™ Retrofit Solutions and Opportunities | Bluetooth®...

Auracast™ product momentum is growing, and one emerging category is Auracast™ retrofit transmitters.

@RSW said:

I am currently streaming Spotify crystal clear on my Galaxy S23 Ultra and Jabra Enhance Pro 20s. I can answer calls by tapping twice on my left ear. I can talk through my hearing aids with my phone in the next room. The person on the other end of the line can hear me clearly. I am using the recent February 15th version of the app. I just picked up my hearing aids today. The Bluetooth connection says LE Audio.

Interesting. Maybe I’ll switch the LE Audio back on and give it a try!

Bluetooth and Auracast are changing the way microphones are designed20

Most people have a view about their speakers, earbuds and headphones. They’ll happily enthuse about the audio performance, how well the noise cancellation works, their battery life and features like transparency.

There’s more movement than I was expecting a few months ago. Two hearing aid product families have it active and one ‘ready for’.

Mixed reviews on Android. More bad than good maybe. Early days. We should see improvements in Android 15. The main supplier of hearing loops has teamed up with someone else to bring transmitters to public places. Who knows about Apple?

I’d say things are choogling along.

Can I make the 1000th post please?

Thanks!!!

Is really Bluetooth LE and auracast available on Costco Jabra 20 offering? Because of this feature probably many now or in the near future will get their next HA from Costco for less than ReSound Nexia. In this regard, my 2nd audiologist I went to for fitting M&RIE receivers had the audacity to offer me an upgrade from my current ReSound Omnia 9 (previous top model) to Nexia for above $7K. This audiologist business driven by excessive profits on expense of the senior pocket need to be regulated as well. It’s a shame that these hearing aids businesses are using the unexplainable lack of Medicare coverage to push their profits above the limits.

@d_Wooluf said:

… Who knows about Apple?

I’d say things are choogling along.

MacRumors thinks it’s just a matter of time until Apple joins the BT LE Audio party as it mentions Apple’s firm past commitment to participating in the development of the LE Audio standard. (can’t find the MacRumors post I read recently on this)

BTW, I was about to weigh in with post #1002 in this thread, but I got distracted by something else and missed my big chance. C’est dommage!

@d_Wooluf said:

Can I make the 1000th post please?

Can’t resist! I get to be 1000, two (too) → 1000 (& 2).

@sufhl said:

https://www.ravepubs.com/new-auri-assistive-listening-system-debuts-from-listen-tech-and-ampetronic-uses-auracast-standard/

I’m betting that Apple is holding off announcing Auracast support until they add it to the next version of Airpods. I wouldn’t expect it before the WWDC conference in June, where they’ll unveil the next version of iOS, or maybe with the iPhone 16 launch in September.

LE Audio implies the ability to receive Auracast streams AFAIK.
Also in their BL Launch Studio listing Philips and other rebrands are listed alongside Intents as having BL 5.4 and being LEA capable.

Oticon Intent miniRITE, Intent 1 - Intent 2 - Intent 3 - Intent 4 - Intent DemoFlex
Bernafon Encanta MNR, Encanta 400 - Encanta 300 - Encanta 200 - Encanta 100 - Encanta DemoFlex
Philips HearLink 50 MNR, HearLink 9050 - HearLink 7050 - HearLink 5050 - HearLink 3050 - Hearlink 50 DemoFlex
Oticon B miniRITE, B500 - B400 - B300 - B200
AGXO B miniRITE, B500 - B400 - B300 - B200
Amplifon ampli-energy 5D R, ampli-energy 5 5D - ampli-energy 4 5D - ampli-energy 3 5D - ampli-energy 2 5D - ampli-energy 5D DemoFlex
Audika B miniRITE, B500 - B400 - B300 - B200
HHM B miniRITE, B500 - B400 - B300 - B200 - B DemoFlex
Multisound B miniRITE, B500 - B400 - B300 - B200
KINDsevan miniRITE R, KINDsevan 5 - KINDsevan 4 - KINDsevan 3 - KINDsevan DemoFlex
SoniTon Personal Plus R, Personal 1.5 - Personal 2.5 - Personal 3.5 - Personal 4.5 - Personal.5 DemoFlex
Vio T 6 Li, T44 - T34 - T24 - T14 - Td4 DemoFlex
Bernafon A1 MNR, Maico A1 MNR, A1.100 - A1.80 - A1.60 - A1.40
Multisound A1 MNR, A1.100 - A1.80 - A1.60 - A1.40
SoniTon A1 MNR, A1.100 - A1.80 - A1.60 - A1.40 - A1 DemoFlex
Sonic A1 MNR, A1.100 - A1.80 - A1.60 - A1.40
SBO A1 MNR, A1.100 - A1.80 - A1.60 - A1.40

I am truly amazed by their deep dive into Bluetooth 54 and low energy audio. This is a big commitment. I hope others will follow.

I thought it might be the case but I’ve now seen it confirmed. You phone doesn’t need to support LE Audio or Auracast natively to take the role of an Auracast assistant. From https://bitly/3P7841v:9

The Auracast™ assistant functionality needed
by users can be supported in earbuds, headphones, hearing aids, and speakers, interacting with
familiar legacy smartphones that do not include native Auracast™ assistant functionality.
To operate with an earlier generation of smartphones, which don’t support scanning for
advertisements5, we have to move the scanning task to the Auracast™ receivers. All Auracast™
receivers must be able to scan for these advertisements. That’s a mandatory requirement in the Basic
Audio Profile specification, because they need to be able to work autonomously. For many users, in
places where there is only one Auracast™ transmitter, simple scanning and joining direct from the
receiving device may be sufficient. However, as has been noted earlier, it is likely there will soon be
multiple Auracast™ broadcast audio streams within range, in a single location.
To use an older phone to display multiple Auracast™ broadcasts that are available, an Auracast™
receiver needs to perform the scanning function and make the information it finds about the streams
available to an application on the smartphone. It does this using a simple Bluetooth GATT procedure
(which is the basis of all Bluetooth LE applications and is supported by almost every smartphone
made in the last ten years).
The phone application can either read the earbud’s Broadcast Receive State characteristics or
register to be notified of any changes. It will then display the options it has found, let the user select
one of them, and then send that decision back to the Auracast™ receivers, which can go and find that
particular broadcast, synchronise to it and start rendering it.

@d_Wooluf Link not working , but in a nutshell what does this means if you have Bluetooth 4.0?
Thx