I don’t see Apple being early adopters for this, unless their MFI can be integrated with this (Perhaps changing the MFI BT protocol to LE Audio). It seems more likely that MFI and LE Audio will be separate, and Apple have too much (relatively) invested in the MFI development.
The specifications says: Supported Audio Codecs: aptX-Adaptive, aptX, SBC. LC3 codec is required to be Auracast compliant.
I pointed that out earlier. Can only assume someone copy-pasted the wrong specs.
Yes, but there seems to be a bit of momentum building (he says hopefully). And there’s CES in a month (he says for about the third time). The Nexia release was a bit of a surprise.
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I’ll be at CES and hoping to attend their Auracast Experiences room. I’ll report back after the event with any interesting news and updates.
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Great article by Stephen Frazier. At one point, IIRC, he was high up in Loop New Mexico.
Auracast Is Actually Here and It’s Not Just About Hearing Loss — Hearing Health Foundation
Frazier forecasts an 8- to 10-year span for Auracast to take over. He seems to predict earbuds, not HAs, will be the driver, and he cites the example of earbud wearers in a stadium being able to hear the play-by-play announcer clearly over the roar of the crowd as an example of the utility that will drive Auracast adoption. He reviews the performance of the VOCE Auracast transmitter (the HERE NOW part).
Edit_Update: Stephen O. Frazier: Articles on HearingTracker.com
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Searching for Auracast on Amazon brings up several transmitters starting at $45.
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Audiology Online now has a course on Auracast presented by somebody from GN.
Two things I found interesting. Any version of BT 5.x could theoretically be updated to BT 5.3 via firmware, but as they stated “could, not will.” So my take is it won’t happen.
Second were these statements suggesting there are still some bugs to work out.
Challenges:
• Bluetooth SIG can test and qualify
products to comply with Bluetooth®
standards and requirements including
Auracast
• Bluetooth SIG can NOT verify that
Auracast hearing aids work properly
• Bluetooth SIG can NOT verify that
Auracast transmitters are properly
installed
• A new IEC standard under way to deal with
these problems.
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Further reading and I think I understand some things I didn’t before. Assuming you have an Auracast compatible phone, it will act as a “Broadcast Assistant” (essentially a user interface for whatever Auracast receiving devices you have) My next thought is where do I find this Broadcast Assistant. Poking around I found a Reddit post that was helpful. IF one has both an Auracast compatible phone AND Auracast compatible hearing aids or ear buds, one can go into Bluetooth settings on the phone, click on the gear icon next to the compatible device and be presented with whatever broadcast sources are available. I have compatible phone, but not aids or bud so I can’t check it. If anybody has Resound Nexias and a compatible phone, I’d be curious to here if/how this works.
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5 years is quite possible, even longer. I always hope for sooner, but this stuff takes time.
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I think part of the problem for something like ReSound Nexias and Auracast is that you have a relatively small company, even though they make Jabra stuff, compared to the likes of Samsung and Apple and big TV, appliance, and electronics manufacturers. So GN ReSound tries to get a leg up on a competitor like Phonak by being on the bleeding edge, but Apple, Samsung, and Phonak are more successful in what they do now. Usually, a big business has trouble undercutting its bread-and-butter products with something very new and different. Samsung might be more forward-looking than Apple as Apple almost owns the personal audio business with products like AirPods and Beats Audio. In the Stephen Frazier article that I posted above: LE Audio and the Future of Hearing - #924 by jim_lewis, Frazier did write (as of March 2023) that It’s not clear yet whether companies like Apple and Samsung will make LE audio software upgrades available for existing devices. Still, Stephen Frazier wrote that Apple is reportedly working on LE Audio–compatible AirPods and iPhones.
That blog post was nine months ago, and the iPhone 15 was announced months ago. Maybe the problem, besides the inertia of Apple riding on its current audio wave, is that Apple sees no point in coming out with something that’s not compatible with the forthcoming ISO standard that @MDB references in his post about the GN ReSound Audiology Online course on Auracast.
(right now, I’m too consumed learning about Ford vehicle ECUs to worry about whatever affects my hearing future!).
How to access broadcast assistant on Samsung S23:
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Ok. Five years maybe before your cinema, the airport, and the counter at your bank are enabled. I think it’s very feasible though that within a year your phone, your tv, your girlfriend’s tv, and your computer will all be enabled. That puts us ahead of where we’ve ever been. We might have to wait for the fruit…
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This is quite possible, but it is unlikely telecoil will see much expansion given that better technology is now available. For example, I live in New Hampshire, and the online site to find telecoil usage lists 14 sites for the entire state (none of which I would ever use). Auracast should cost a fraction to implement of what a coil would cost, and has many applications beyond hearing aids, which will also likely add to its adoption.
As an electrical engineer that is new to wearing HA’s, I am going with BLE Audio and Auracast and not the telecoil. I choose the future, not the past.
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Right now, it’s not either/or and you need both BT and telecoil. Telecoil is not just for looped venues. Used with a neckloop, it serves as an interface between non-BT LE Audio hearing aids and BT LE audio transmitters and as an interface between FM/IR/WiFi transmitters and any hearing aid. (I’m also an EE in NH)
I thought I’d jump in here and remind folks about Magnesiums role in proper heart rhythm along with several hundred other reactions in your body chemistry.
Most of the world is deficient of this very necessary mineral because it’s hard to get sufficient quantities in diet and poor availability in food sources. To make matters worse, proper body levels are not easily measured because the majority lives in the bone marrow, not the blood supply. Also, certain common prescription drugs actually deplete Magnesium from your system. Check yours out to see.
Find a good source of absorbable Magnesium and take it daily. Do your research. All the information you need is available online.
I started taking Magnesium Taurate years ago now and it’s completely stopped my AFib. Your results will vary, of course, but proper Magnesium levels will help you in many other ways.
Do it today. It can help.
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Actually, whether you “need” either a telecoil or BLE Audio is a matter of personal choice. As I stated, I have no use for a telecoil, and don’t want a larger HA to accommodate a coil I will never use. There is no venue that I ever attend that has a loop installed, and the neck loop you mention is something, fortunately, I do not need with the level of hearing loss I currently have. So for me, and anyone else in similar circumstances, BLE Audio is more important that a coil. Also, since BLE Audio has applications far outside of HA’s, there is a greater chance of new developments that use BLE Audio.
With that said, I’m sure there are many people who use, and need, coils. But I have no use for them, and will not buy a hearing aid without BLE Audio and Auracast.
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Has anyone seen this video demonstration of LE Audio and Auracast done by Andrew Bellavia.
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Cheers Kev 
Yes. I really liked the integration with Windows they showed in the second interview.