Very nice! That clarifiies a lot for me.
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The article helps me too.
Also tells me my Google Pixel 3 phone at Android 11 is as high as it will go if I understand it correctly.
A Google search for those new chips explains more.
From my understanding, your Bluetooth won’t go any higher than the current BT 5, but I think you should get Android 12 when it comes this Fall. Android 12 will be the last OS you get though. Of course this is dependent on what your cell provider (Verizon?) does.
This is why I use independent cell provider and always buy unlocked phones. I want full control of my devices. I control the updates. If ne s available then to decide if we want to update or not and not a cellular provider.
I too have a bias towards unlocked phones.
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The Pixel 3 phone I have is unlocked with a Verizon SIM card. The Samsung S9 I had was locked to Verizon and it would not update to Android 10 due to Verizon. My Cochlear processors needed Android 10.
All the Pixel phones are Bluetooth 5.0 and use the Snapdragon chips. I guess I don’t understand how the new FastConnect 6900 and the FastConnect 6700 chips play a part in the Android 12 arena.
My understanding is that the FastConnect 6700 and 6900 are BT 5.2 capable IF they also have Android 12. If they’re used on a phone with Android 11, they won’t be BT 5.2 capable.
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I would check something, when I got my iPhone 7 back about a year after it became available it was unlocked but I put in and AT&T SIM card and AT&T preceding to lock it. I know because I had issues when I left AT&T for consumer cellular. I had to demand AT&T to unlock my unlocked phone before it work on the consumer cellular network.
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Bluetooth 5.2 LE audio is expected to revolutionize bluetooth for hearing aids and assistive devices. One article I read suggested it may start appearing in HA in the next year or so.
In a Hearing Tracker article about BT in hearing aids, it says " Oticon has added support for Android ASHA wireless streaming, and made more future proof for LE Audio, making More one of the best Bluetooth hearing aids out there"
By “future proof” for BT 5.2 LE Audio, do you mean that the Oticon More has the firmware needed to upgrade the More to 5.2 by just a software implementation?
I’m trying to decide between the More and the Phonak Paradise. It sounds like the Paradise (and the Marvel) have the Classic Bluetooth, which is the best use of BT currently in the market, but More is set up to be BT 5.2 with just a software upgrade. (More also has the deep learning technology to improve speech in noise).
Sorry - I meant “does this article mean to say”
More about the new Bluetooth 5.2
Lots of threads about this. Lots of thoughts and opinions about if and when 5.2 will come. Then you have to get so many Bluetooth devices on the same page.
A search for Bluetooth LE will give great results.
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I have read that the Oticon More aids has the capacity for LE, but I am not sure it that is true or f it needs future firmware updates
If Bluetooth LE turns out to offer serious, useful connectivity and features (it should, but until we have it, who really knows) then having compatibility will be a sales point. However, until it’s here, and especially with statements of “it will work with by software/firmware update”, I would be very cautious in relying that in the selection of aids as of TODAY.
That sucks if you really need new HAs now, but you could potentially decide on an aid with that in mind only to find that update is taking a really long time to happen, if at all. If you believe LE will offer substantial improvement in functionality, then perhaps waiting some more (assuming your current aids work) would be a reasonable choice.
I’m not suggesting the LE hype is bad or fake. But seeing it in actual user use will improve your HA selection without feeling you missed out on something. People might get them and react “eh, it’s nice but it doesn’t add much to what I personally use the aids for” to “this is amazing and transforms my experience with a HA”. So you have the choice of waiting it out, buying something like the Oticon which claims they’re LE ready (even though their open HA solution is not what a particular person is happy with) or going without an aid, which makes no sense. We need to hear. That’s always the number one decision.
It’s the pitfall of being an early adopter, especially if it’s not actually available and may push you towards a hearing aid solution you might have not wanted. I guess if you’re an Oticon user and need a replacement that’s a plus in pulling the trigger early. If your HAs are ok but getting to the point you will need a replacement soon, you can either hang on or just pull the trigger hoping it is your best choice.
If you’re not an Oticon user, and in no particular rush other than wanting new tech and what sounds like solid advantages to LE, then waiting might really be the best choice as of today.
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Many current hearing aids (Oticon, Resound and Signia) are claiming future compatibility with LE audio. I’m skeptical too and wouldn’t want to bet on it. It’s really a conundrum as with Marvel/Paradise one can stream from pretty much any Bluetooth device, but they seem unlikely to be LE compatible. However, if one wants to stream from LE devices, one is either going to need to get a new device (in case of phone or tablet) or get new USB BT dongles (or new device) for any device one wants to stream from. As exciting as this is, I think it’s wise to be patient.
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I agree. You need to buy into the whole “ecosystem “ to get the most out of it. One promising feature, to me, is the lower power requirements LE will bring. That’s a big deal especially in these days of rechargeable HAs taking over the market. Battery times will be significantly improved, which means keeping your HA attached to your phone (or whatever) all day for adjustments/preset choices/ call streaming won’t reduce you to searching fir a charger solution early. That’s a big deal.
Will there be some call sound improvements. Probably, although I’d wait on calling that one. Other features like Dolby Atmos (an amazing technology if you ever listen to a single soundbar and it feels like you have a home theater with 5 speakers all around you) isn’t going to be as much of a deal as it will be in consumer electronics, as from what I can see, HAs will never be a great first solution for critical music listening. But if that’s the only way you can really hear an audio stream it’ll be a step up. It should eliminate the big Bluetooth problem of latency, so the audio won’t lag the video by a half second and make you feel like you’re watching a movie with English being dubbed in. This is good for HA use, as well as Bluetooth headphones for general consumer use.
All this looks great on paper. But before replacing your HAs in anticipation, and then your phone, your tablet, your laptop (at least in a desktop you can just pop in a new audio card) and then your TV components like if you have a dedicated streaming box, you get the idea, it gets really expensive, considering you’re betting all that money in a spec sheet.
I don’t think Bluetooth is looking to pull a fast one. They are the industry standard and they’re not likely to blow the launch with essential flaws in it. But I would hold back to see the actual products. If they work as described, then folks can jump in and spend hard earned money on it. But like multichannel Dolby Digital which first came out when DVDs came along, it took some time for the market to catch up. It did, and it was and remains a great product (if sound processing can be viewed that way). Hopefully LE will even top that at launch. But SS someone who went in guns blazing setting up a home theater with that, there were early teething pains. They were manageable and was successful. I’m just not sure I would want to experience teething pains on some I need to hear with.
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Yes, you’re always better off waiting to see the real product. Especially with hearing aids. Even if there’s nothing wrong with the standard, individual products will vary with their implementation.
Bear in mind they’ve been developing this thing for eight years (so far). They’re not going to release it half-baked. I’m expecting battery life, sound and latency will all be greatly improved, but I’m the quintessential fanboy, so ignore me.
I’m hoping to nurse my current phone and aids along for a while longer so I’d be needing to upgrade anyway. I do have some concerns about whether Apple (possibly other big players, but mostly Apple) will throw a spanner into the works when it comes to interoperability. We’ll have to wait and see.
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For anyone with the interest and the time:
It’s over 2 hours long.
Some things I learnt:
Latency is about 25ms. Can be shorter but there is a trade-off in robustness.
A single transmitter should be enough to transmit to most indoor areas
Bluetooth 5.3 might be the one to wait for
Covid has meant they’ve had to redesign their testing protocols. Hence delays.
They want to connect everything- from your microwave to your doorbell.
Audio quality is highly configurable. Battery life is the trade-off.
Take more care when selecting a presenter for your webinar.
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Does it actually mention Bluetooth 5.3 or just suggest that 5.2 won’t quite fix everything? If it mentions 5.3, any mention of when it might be announced? Jut checked some history:
BT 5 released in December 2016. BT 5.1 announced January 2019. BT 5.2 published December 2019. This has had the feeling of “just over the horizon” for sometime!
Kind of skimmed it. Sounds like there’s something called Hearstream coming out. Not sure what to call it. They sounded fairly optimistic for products to be coming out soon and thought that some current BT 5.2 products should be compatible with a firmware upgrade. I found humorous that they blamed pairing difficulties on the manufacturers. My take was that Nick Hunn basically said it’s not our protocols, it’s the implementation. He did praise Apple for their good implementation of pairing. I also found humorous that they thought that this was quickly going to become a universal standard. Maybe, but there are a lot of pretty functional non compatible devices out there that people will still want to use.
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