Are Bluetooth Hearing Aids About to Change For Ever?
So Phonak are leading up to a big announcement and launch cycle in September. They have been dropping hints all over the place and everyone knows that it will be the launch of their Made For iPhone hearing aids. Here is the thing though, while cryptic, their hints just lately make me think that it might just be Made For Android hearing aid time!
I don't know about you, but that looks like a direct jab at Made For iPhone to me. We know that Android accounts for the largest market share in the Smartphone world. However, up to now, there has been no true Made For Android hearing aids. Mainly because Android didn't sort out a system that was similar to Apple's, and none of the hearing aid manufacturers coded one either.
Made For Android Hearing Aids
While many bluetooth hearing solutions will connect to Android phones they will not stream directly. They all need some sort of intermediary device. While hanging said device around my neck doesn't bother me, other people get really irked by it. A true Made For Android hearing aid would have a direct streaming link and offer similar features to common Made For iPhone hearing aids.
The obstacle, for now, has been that Android has never coded a system in their os like Apple's. The only way around that is a shed load of coding work from a hearing aid manufacturer to organise their own system. that's a lot of time and effort. Phonak are really the last to come to the Made For market, maybe extra coding time was the reason?
We will have the answer in September, but if I am right, Phonak will be delivering a truly groundbreaking hearing aid system that caters to 100% of Smartphone users. I (nerd that I am) for one, can't really wait to find out.
Posted by Geoff
Geoffrey Cooling
Geoffrey (Geoff, anything else makes him nervous) Cooling has been involved with the hearing aid industry for over ten years. He has worked in private practice dispensing hearing aids and as a manufacturer's rep. He has written two books and they are both available on Amazon. He loves technology, passing on knowledge and is legendary for many other things, primarily the amount he curses, his dry and mischievous sense of humour and his complete intolerance of people who are full of themselves. Please feel free to connect with him
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