I think of the Assistant as like a radio tuner. It lets you select what broadcast your hearing aids get. Probably what you mean by “dispatcher.”
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It sends the hearing aids the details that they need to listen to the broadcast. Once the aids have that information and are receiving the broadcast, it is no longer necessary. You could turn the phone off at that point.
On a related note, I was reading a piece on the Auracast booth at CES 2024. According to the writer who attended, when they got there they were handed ear buds and Apple phones with Auracast assistant apps. I found that interesting.
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Were the ear buds Auracast?
I suppose the iphones were bluetooth 5.3 LE!!!
They must have been or the whole ‘demo’ was faked. The iPhones might be 5.2 or 5.3, but are not certified for LE Audio as far as I know.
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FWIW all the current iPhones are using BT 5.3. No idea about LE Audio capability - given they have BT 5.3, I assume LE audio is just software enabled.
LE audio did not work correctly with my Jabra hearing aids. Says they are compatible, but phone calls were messed up while connected to it.
Bluetooth® LE Audio Streaming & Auracast™
Jabra Enhance Pro 20 hearing aid users with compatible Android smartphones*, can connect to the next generation Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast broadcast audio. Bluetooth LE Audio provides enhanced performance with hands-free calls. Auracast broadcast audio will enable new audio experiences in private and public places, making the world more hearing friendly and accessible for everyone.
Jabra Enhance Pro 20 is the industry first hearing aid to connect to Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast. Users with compatible Android devices can gain immediate access to both hands-free calling and Auracast broadcast functionality.
*Hands-free calling and Auracast broadcast audio works with Jabra Enhance Pro 20 and compatible mobile devices with Bluetooth 5.3 or later and the latest Bluetooth LE Audio streaming protocol.
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Google are looking at putting LE Audio more front-and-centre in Android 15.
https://www.androidpolice.com/android-15-serious-bluetooth-le-audio-boost/
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Hope that puts pressure on Apple to join the fray…
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I like the concept of high and low priority Auracast streams.
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I wish they’d stop calling it “BLE Audio” though. They’re developing for LE Audio, you’d think they’d remember the name.
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Technically it is Bluetooth LE Audio, so abbreviating it BLE Audio is not unreasonable.
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“BLE Audio” obscures the name of the thing and conflates it with a description of it.
You see discussions about “BLE Audio”. People pipe up with “I use BLE Audio! It’s great!”. Turns out they’re using an iPhone with mfi aids. But it’s audio, right? It uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)? So BLE Audio makes perfect sense.
Even worse, people drop the ‘audio’ for brevity. Someone pipes up with “What are you talking about? My phone’s had BLE for years!” Well, yes. Different thing. It’s a hot mess actually.
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Yeah I totally agree, so we can just keep using the kiss factor (keep it simple stupid)
BLE = old school
LE Audio = new wave
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Instead of viewing the phone only as the assistant, could a phone receive the LE Audio signal and then transmit that audio via Bluetooth Classic or BLE to a non LE Audio enabled hearing device?
“later this year” AURI, a public assistive listening system by Ampetronic and Listen Technologies should be emerging in public venues. I cannot wait!
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Pretty sure the answer is no.
I suspect you’re right, doing both at the same time on a phone seems unlikely. I guess people with non LE Audio hearing aids/CI will plug a neckloop (if t-coil enabled on device) or a remote mic for a given hearing device into a handheld LE Audio receiver.
I don’t think it will happen either, mainly because I believe that the corporations that paid for the development of LE Audio don’t want it to happen. They want to make profit on their investment by selling scads of wireless earbuds, wireless headphone, hearing aids, wireless speakers.
Consumers getting LE Audio on the cheap by plugging wired headphones into their phones is not part of the plan. Plus, if they allow us to pass on an audio signal that we receive to a third party… well, can of worms. The usage scenarios may expand in unforseeable and possibly wanted directions.
Agreed. Wireless stuff (including Bluetooth) is glitchy enough as designed. Trying to jury rig something else sounds like a disaster.
Being hard of hearing and still learning, I find it really hard to understand when people talk in code.
Remember service talk…fubar had me stumped until someone explained it.
And I thought a Microsoft Engineer was being helpful when he used the term DFU when he explained what was wrong with my pc.
DaveL