I was an IT professional and it was a part of my job. I worked for a company that allowed it almost 10000 employees to choose their phones and devices, and to connect to the email server and secure website. I had to keep up with what worked and what didn’t. We pushed security handshake apps to the devices to in sure security. I came to realize Apple IOS, was causing the least issues once the major upgrades were done in the fall. And Windows, and Android was about neck and neck with issues after updates. Which was happening to often to keep up with. And tell device owners to not update was fruitless.
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I am a great fan of Apple hardware, but perhaps not so keen on their software… They do make excellent iPhones, iPads and iMacs, but they are way too restrictive on what apps they will allow… Years ago, I built my own desktops running windows, but once the iPads came out, I gave that up… I do have 27” iMac with an i7 CPU, I duel booted it with windows 10, using “Bootcamp”, in fact I never use IOS on the iMac now, I am quite happy using windows… Apple is expensive, but they are good at what they make. I was going to go for the iPhone 12 Pro, but I decided to keep my iPhone X for another year, so I changed the battery… Cheers Kev 
As a retired IT professional I found the restriction that Apple put in place a life saver for me. But I do understand what you are talking about. And it does keep the lawyers busy and rich fighting with Apple about it. But I believe it is what makes the Apple OSs secret as they are and stable. I have seen far less hard failures with Apple then I did with Windows, Linux or Android.
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Yeah Chuck, my Windows 10 OS runs sweet on my iMac 
and I do appreciate your sentiments, Apples hardware is excellent, it is their restrictive practices that gets me… You cannot fault their workmanship, some of their pricing is a wee bit OTT, but their stuff is made to last, although they don’t make it easy to swop out batteries on their iPhones and iPads, but where there is a will there is a way
Thanks for the news article. The original entire press release is to be found here:
Apple previews powerful software updates designed for people with disabilities - Apple
Made for iPhone Hearing Aids and Audiogram Support
In a significant update to the MFi hearing devices program, Apple is adding support for new bi-directional hearing aids. The microphones in these new hearing aids enable those who are deaf or hard of hearing to have hands-free phone and FaceTime conversations. The next-generation models from MFi partners will be available later this year.
Apple is also bringing support for recognizing audiograms — charts that show the results of a hearing test — to Headphone Accommodations. Users can quickly customize their audio with their latest hearing test results imported from a paper or PDF audiogram. Headphone Accommodations amplify soft sounds and adjust certain frequencies to suit a user’s hearing.
I wonder if this will finally make Phonak give in and support MFi in their HA’s? Lack of MFi is the main thing that’s keeping me from going Phonak.
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Not sure what a “hard failure” is but while out walking and streaming last night, I had a failure that trapped me in a boot loop with such a high power drain, the phone shut down - never had that with Android! Will add link here to post in an iOS BT streaming thread.
MFi has been around all this time and they haven’t drunk the Apple Koolaid. lol It’s their lack of doing so that drives me to want to go Phonak next. That they stood out to be universally compatible and not just a closed sand box.
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Phonak did cave in to the “Apple Koolaid.” They finally got rid of their HA couplers, amongst the last in the HA industry to do so, and instituted a Bluetooth Classic kludge that still doesn’t work as well as MFI in connectivity distance and solidness and phone and HA battery life as MFi does. If all the world were still going to be going mainly with BT Classic, Phonak “low energy” streaming might be a great future-looking solution but most prognostications show BT Classic slowly slipping away and BT LE Audio gaining increasing foothold, especially since it will be adopted by the younger set for audio wearables, i.e., earbuds, headphones, etc. So BT broadcasting devices will increasing be produced with that consumer market in mind. The train will be slowly leaving the station but will Phonak be on board?!
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Bluetooth is not Apple. Apple did their own little proprietary trick with it to make mfi. Good for them and all enclosed in their special beautiful sand box of expensive products.
There’s no reason any newer version of bluetooth could not be used in an open system HA that Phonak could just as well bring out.
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In my book MFI works and makes my life for the last 6 years so much better
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Perhaps @d_Wooluf could answer whether BT LE Audio and the hardware necessary to support it is truly “open” or whether there are licensing restrictions and licensing fees to be paid for the use of codecs like LC3 or BT hardware designs that might be patented, etc., .
Open in the context of anybody can use it with any product. Not just a special closed world of a single provider.
I can’t do mfi on my Android. I can’t connect to a bluetooth transmitter with mfi aids. Closed. Not interested. I want interoperability…not married to one brand. Oh you want to connect to that? Then you’re going to have to have this. I prefer sure you can connect to that.
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Well I can connect to my phone, my iPad, and my laptop with the connect clip, and I can connect to my ebook reader to listen to my books. I can connect to my wife’s, Fire tablet, and even her Windows laptop, and Samsung Android phone. I don’t have problems even connecting to stream the TV. So I don’t see the problem.
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I should have said, though, what’s open is BT Classic, which will be slowly fading away. There is nothing “open” about Phonak and its BT Classic variant. As far as HA’s go, MFi is “open.” Anyone who wants to can make an MFi HA (or an ASHA HA, ReSound made both standards “open,” AFAIK). So perhaps the best answer is that whatever the openess is of the BT SIG group, since it’s got a scheme that’s going to affect a whole spectrum of devices, it’s going to foist changes on MFi, ASHA, and Classic BT to make purveyors of goods using these older standards adapt. It will be interesting to see how fast and how universally the BT world starts drinking BT LE Audio KoolAid! And will every HA OEM still try to foist their propietary remote mics, TV connectors, etc., on everyone. The HA OEMs are not “open” folks all around. So whether Android is more “open” than iOS is somewhat moot when it comes to HA connectivity - it takes a fully BT TV to stream openly to Phonaks, otherwise, it’s the Phonak TV connector as your “open” solution. Same with Roger mics, and on one goes. Android has been an “open” mess. Now that Samsung has agreed to team up with Google to make Android wearables more rational, there is some hope. But otherwise, IMHO, the Apple Watch vs. Samsung Galaxy Gear vs. Fitbit vs. Wear past disasters was that of a rational well-integrated system vs. a variety of open(?!!) wearable messes…
An mfi aid can only connect to an Apple product for phone/audio (no mic…yet).
That aid manufacturer may very well have their own proprietary connectivity like the Roger, Connect clip whatever all those proprietary doodads. I’m not talking about those closed products. I don’t like the idea of those either. Sure they work…for them.
I want interoperability. Not married to one brand.
I will say as a disclaimer…this is how I so far understand how all these things work.
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As someone that has come up with solutions my whole life, I am someone that looks for answers and work a rounds. Bluntly my hearing comes first. Connectivity is just a add on plus and I will always place my ability to hear the best possible first, then I will concentrate on what I need for connectivity. And I am this way I will buy are deal with my enemies to be able to hear my family. And that starts with the correct hearing aids.
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Source:
“And while we’re on the subject of MFi devices, Apple is adding support for new bidirectional hearing aids to assist with hands-free phone and FaceTime conversations.”
Note: “MFi” stands for “Made for iphone” and represents devices that have earned status for meeting integration requirements established by apple.
Aside from being smaller, I wish the latest generation of smart Bluetooth connected gearing aids were bidirectional so this is great news! I know there have been some that do this but being MFi it means it has the best integration for iOS ecosystem.
Anyone heard of which manufacturers have aids that will support this?
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Pretty sure Oticon More will support this with a future firmware update (enabling Bluetooth 5.2 LE Audio).
My understanding is that the new Signia AX products will support it. Not sure if existing models will have the dedicated mics for voice pickup.
We are all here to hear better. Of course that’s the prime directive. The general topic on deck is this new-fangled mfi functionality adding the HA mics (and other things). Phonak has been there, done that and able to connect to just about anything. Apple is behind the times on this and trying to catch up and still only able to connect to their own devices staying in their walled garden.
Not all of us have the opportunity to take all the time and trial every brand and the cost therein to do so. So some people will look for those other bells and whistles to help justify the enormous cost of these darn things.