This is true. It is a combination of both HW/FW component. The chip that runs them generally 5- 10 years old. but the firmware is newer.
I think judging from the usecase of auracast that it requires new HW/FW/SW combination that the current chip platform cannot provide.
However I don’t see the issue of adding BTLE Audio without auracast extension to it.
If history repeats, It is like resound/Cochlear adding ASHA protocol to Quattro HA / N7 sound processor in a firmware update back in 2019.
An err on my part, I was not thinking of the entire bluetooth LE Audio spec. I was talking about the BT LE audio without auracast involved and I misguided some people into thinking the LE audio will include Auracast for it first generation HA.
Sorry for the misunderstanding
Here is a technical deep dive into the chip that is used in cochlear/resound platform
Quartto to Omnia is using nRF52840 chipset which is released in 2017
A quote from Bluetooth.c** “Questions & Answers on Auracast”
Will existing Bluetooth devices be able to transmit or receive Auracast™ broadcasts? Or will new software or hardware be required?
The new specifications allow for upgradability of existing products in the field. Whether field upgrades occur will depend on the underlying Bluetooth capabilities already in a device and the supplier’s product strategy. We do expect some product types will be upgradeable, but do not have visibility into specific product strategies. For certain Auracast™ transmitter categories such as TVs, we expect many will require a hardware upgrade. However, we also expect to see plug-and-play aftermarket Auracast™ transmitters used to add support for Auracast™ broadcast audio to TVs and other Auracast™ transmitter product types.
Auracast seems to have arrived in the audio market. Searching for Auracast on amazon.com brings up a number of items including headphones and transmitters. While this doesn’t necessarily mean anything for hearing aids, at least it’s progress.
It’s just two items with Auracast. Everything else is just Amazon’s algorithm for showing us what it thinks we might want to buy. I do think the item you linked to is significant though in an odd kind of way. Once you get low cost Asian manufacturers getting involved, the market is heading in my direction. And it shows that there’s a lot of development going on. Not sure the design on the headphones was a great idea though.
You will be able to get auracast enabled accessory from HA manufacture. it does not matter which you can connect to brand…
There are a few Auracast items besides the headphones/transmitter bundles. Not a lot yet, but it’s a good sign. It takes a bit of digging to find them.
That “something” could be as simple as the button on the hearing aid. Take for example the VOCE Auracast Transceiver. It is controlled by a single button: In receiver mode, triple push switches to Auracast and starts scanning the air for broadcasts. Scanning stops and starts receiving the first found broadcast. If it’s not what you’re looking for, press the button and searching continues. So you can select Auracast source and start receiving with your hearing aids without the need for an external device.
I’m not. Auracast is a more catchy name for Bluetooth Low Energy Audio Sharing and as such it is a subset of LE Audio.
Auracast is a subset of BLE Audio - not an extension.
extension or subset is the same thing in my mind
It is actually not that simple… Manufacture can do what whatever they like but the problem UI/UX can be horrible when switching broadcast… you can expect so many broadcast devices and you expect the system to randomly pick an a unused broadcast and oh what about password protected (encrypted) broadcast?
In my mind an extension is a superset (A subset of a set A is any set B such that every element of B is also an element of A. A superset of A is any set C such that A is a subset of C.
In public locations - including conference centers, movie theaters, transportation centers, places of worship, silent info-displays anywhere, in short, any location where Auracast is to replace induction loop, encryption won’t be used. I prefer using my remote with status display or smartphone app to control my HAs, but the HAs with Auracast could in most situations be controlled with a single button.
LE Audio can live with out it.is my point when i say an extension (or optional)…
To clarify. Auracast requires LE Audio. LE Audio does not require Auracast. I believe that is correct. This appears to be wrong. See previous post.
Thanks for trying, but it didn’t help much. It’s really quite simple. LE Audio is the full package, part of which is Auracast, formerly known as Audio Sharing. LE Audio was announced by EHIMA on January 7, 2020. The term Auracast appeared on July 12, 2022 as a novelty, IMHO because the industri realised, that it would be easier to sell a product supporting Auracast, than it would be to sell a product supporting Bluetooth Low Energy Audio, Audio Sharing Broadcast.
There are lots of use case specific profiles, you can put on top of the generic audio framework. One of them is the Public Broadcast Profile which then gives you the basic functions of Auracast.
The main components of LE Audio are:
Is there such a thing as an Auracast specification? No, Auracast is a subset of LE Audio.
I can recommend Ken Kolderups 24 minute talk on the occasion of World Hearing Day 2020.
Good find. I was in error. I do suspect there will be a lot of confusion though. I will correct my post.
Again. PBP is not required to make LE Audio work but it is an optional feature to implement the LE audio…
LE Audio don’t need the full spec to make the audio protocol work. They can implement a version of LE Audio without PBP… all they need LC3, BAP, and CAP.
Use case specific profiles ARE OPTIONAL and companies don’t need to implement them unless they want to.
Generic Audio framework and LC3 is required to implement the “full” LE Audio protocol
It depends on your definition of LE Audio,
My definition of LE Audio is without the use Auracast, where auracast is a nice feature to have but not needed.
Interesting article thanks for sharing it.
Further research confirms my impression that there will be a lot of confusion regarding what terms mean.
The article seems clear to me, but others have different impressions. I looked up data on my Galaxy S23 phone in it’s NRF Connect app. It has a YES for LE Audio Supported but NO for LE Audio Source and LE Audio Assistant supported.
Exactly, no phone as far i am aware of have PBP…
Which article?
Agree it’s very confusing and your guess is as good as mine. The terms “Source” (broadcast transmitter) and “Assistant” are related to Auracast, so my guess is, that your phone supports LC3, Multi-Stream and Unicast but not Auracast.
