No mention of the core Bluetooth version. 5.3 you’d hope. So, it’s coming up to the second anniversary of the LE Audio announcement. Also coming up to the end of 2021. Are we going to see LE Audio soon?
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I’m thinking full specs should be out soon including Bluetooth version. I’m guessing 5.3, but we’ll see. I’m thinking this should be fully implemented by 2030. :>)
The 2030 comment was purely joking. I’ve been following Bluetooth in hearing aids since 2016 when I thought BT 5 might bring significant changes. I even bought a phone with BT 5 in anticipation. (I’ve since replaced that phone. :>) So, I’m hopeful, but I’m not holding my breath.
According to the following direct from the Qualcomm page on the Snapdragon 8 Gen1, it only supports BT 5.2 - maybe it will be firmware upgradeable? Perhaps we have to count on Apple offering an out-of-the-box BT 5.3 phone, since Apple has been one of the “in” players in BT LE Audio, supposedly the cause of the delay requiring BT 5.3 rather than BT 5.2 for full functionality.
Bluetooth
Wi-Fi/Bluetooth System: Qualcomm® FastConnect™ 6900
Bluetooth Specification Version: Bluetooth 5.2
Bluetooth Features: Dual Bluetooth antennas, LE Audio Features, Snapdragon Sound™ technology suite
Source: Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform | Qualcomm (down the page, right column)
P.S. If you check, I think you’ll find that the Snapdragon 888 chipset (the predecessor of the 8 Gen1) also support BT 5.2 and Qualcomm advertised it as supporting BT LE Audio, too, at least at the time of its release.
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Thanks. I was just going to post this. Yes, 888 claims the same Bluetooth specs.
Interestingly, Mediatek’s Dimensity 9000 SOC claims BT 5.3.
It is disappointing that the SD 8 Gen 1 does not support BT 5.3 as I’m unaware of Snapdragon ever doing a firmware upgrade of BT versions. I’ve known of smartphones implementing a BT upgrade via an update (Motorola X4 specifically) though, but the SOC always had the capability and they just chose to finally activiate it.
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The recently release iphone 13 is only Bluetooth 5, so I’m not hopeful.
That’s my memory too. The linked article claims LE Audio support on this chip as a first for Qualcomm. Shrug and move on I guess. I’d probably go for something with the new Mediatek if I had to buy a new phone early next year. My guess is BT 5.2 would work, but 5.3 might work better.
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You’re right to be disillusioned! I’m going to stick my neck out and predict that they might announce it at CES in January. That might have a nice symmetry about it.
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Yes, I watched a Bluetooth online seminar and they said it will be finalized early next year, and that it will be available as firmware updates to several products soon after that. So hopefully we don’t need to wait that much longer.
Also, it seems like existing TV manufactures with Bluetooth will be able to update to the new LE Audio protocol. Of course, most of them will probably not update and try to sell new TVs instead.
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If Android vendors will soon be releasing BT LE Audio-capable phones, I’m not sure Apple would want to put itself a whole 'nother year behind its competitors by not incorporating BT 5.3 in its next iPhone. If Apple is the OEM who “put BT LE Audio behind schedule” by insisting that BT 5.2 performance was not good enough (as related by Nick Hunn or the like and discussed earlier in the thread), I don’t see why Apple has to incorporate BT 5.2 into its current iPhone if it was not good enough for its intended purpose, i.e., to support BT LE Audio. So maybe Apple will only update its new phones to BT 5.3 when its ready to go for BT LE Audio?
I think iPhone 11,12 and 13, as well as SE(2020) are BT 5.1 per Bluetooth SIG specs. However, I agree that Apple claims only BT5
Reading Paul Thurrott’s summary of the new Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chip, another feature that he points out that may help drive the demand for BT LE Audio in phones and computers (to help HA use!), is that it provides voice back-channel transmission for gaming (when you want to trash talk or just provide commentary as you game). Gaming compared to HA use is BIG INDUSTRY. The money in video gaming now exceeds the money in the film industry.
It’s also the first Snapdragon mobile platform to support all-new LE audio features like broadcast audio, stereo recording, and voice back-channel for gaming.
Source: Qualcomm Announces the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Chipset - Thurrott.com
That and the latency. Gamers constantly complain about that. You want to hear those footsteps behind you asap!
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I’d like a Nintendo Switch that would directly transmit BT Stereo to my HA’s with low latency (BT LE Audio!) so I could hear those footsteps behind me in Zelda: Breath of the Wild!
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I was nosing around the LE Audio specifications and I found something called the Hearing Aid Service. What caught my attention is that it appears to be nothing to do with audio, but is for selecting scenarios that the aid is programmed for.
The blurb says subject to change, may or may not be adopted etc. Anyway, the introduction is copied and pasted below. What it may mean in practice I’m not sure, except that you could have hearing aid controls baked into a smartphone OS that are brand-agnostic. That would mean that they could be much more accessible to the user. You wouldn’t have to open the hearing aid manufacturer’s app to select ‘noisy environment’.
The Hearing Access Service is used to identify a hearing aid and optionally to control hearing aid presets.
A hearing aid preset represents a configuration of the hearing aid signal processing parameters tailored
to a specific listening situation. This service exposes the names (UTF-8 strings) of the presets supported
by a hearing aid. The names are usually localized in the language of the user.
The preset used by a hearing aid can be changed by user action on the hearing aid or on a client device
(e.g., smartphone, remote controller), or autonomously by the hearing aid.
The hearing aid can modify the list of preset records by adding and deleting presets, changing their
names, and changing their availability over time. Client devices will be informed about these changes.
Examples of hearing aid presets are “Universal,” “Noisy environment,” “Outdoor,” and “Reverberant
room.” The names and functionality are manufacturer specific.
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As excited as I am by this new “standard,” I have the feeling that even when it is fully implemented that it will still be prudent to check for compatibility before committing. I’m thinking after it’s been around a few years one might not have to be as careful, but initially I’m guessing there are going to be a lot of partial implementations.
@d_Wooluf How’s the LC3 codec coming along? I have a hard time finding the page that shows the status of all of it’s different features.
LC3 was one of the first specifications to be published. It’s always a good idea to go into the fine print on what a device actually does, rather than assume anything from the ‘LE Audio’ label. Two-way audio would be a case in point.
Here’s the page you’re looking for.
I just found https://www.cambridgewireless.co.uk/media/uploads/files/CDSIG_27.10.21_N.Hunn.pdf which introduces the various profiles and on the last page or so makes the case that we’re almost there.
Thanks. I was sloppy mixing up LE Audio and the LC3 Codec. I’m not quite sure how he’s using Bluetooth 5.2+. My two takes are you’ll need Bluetooth 5.2 or better or you’ll need an enhanced version Bluetooth 5.2. He does state that Bluetooth 5.2 should be upgradeable via firmware. Of course there’s always the question if the manufacturer will do it, and how completely and well they do it. Does sound like it’s getting close. However the link you posted is from October and it doesn’t looke like there’s any more progress checking off boxes on the current site.
Just read this article on a rainy So.Ca. day
I’ll probably stick with my connectClip for a while
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That article focuses on ASHA- a couple of yeaqrs too late in my opinion. Poorly written and poorly researched. Even the title. " How Google’s custom Bluetooth for hearing aids paved the way for improved audio quality and battery life in headphones".No.LE Audio was in development for years before ASHA was ever thought of. About 7 years in fact.
And this: “It’s also more than likely that the same companies that have pioneered ASHA and Made for iPhone, like GN Hearing, also actively worked with the Bluetooth standard body to introduce this new LE solution”
No, they simply didn’t There’s a good article out there somewhere on the history of it all. I wish I could find it again. It annoys me that so-called tech writers throw this stuff together with about 5 mnutes of research.
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GN Hearing was involved with the Bluetooth Group in developing the LE Audio standard weren’t they?