Thanks for sharing. That was an interesting read.
One concern I have with Auracast is I don’t see a killer use case on the consumer side that will drive wider adoption. While I’m sure it will be very useful for a small group at a restaurant or sporting event to share a single audio stream, I’m not sure the product addresses anything more than an edge case. And I really can’t think of any other consumer application that’s likely to spur investment in Auracast by offering a major, new consumer benefit.
Another issue is a true end-to-end Auracast solution for HA users will likely require cooperation from three separate parties – transmitter vendors, phone manufacturers (to allow selection of specific streams, QR codes, etc), and HA manufacturers. While, in theory, separate products following a standard Bluetooth protocol should work together, the reality is quite different. Vendors can implement the same standard differently and there’s always a requirement for end-to-end testing.
I worked as a product manager for a major software company for many years and gaining legal and technical cooperation from different vendors was high up on my list of “avoid if at all possible” activities. It’s just really hard to partner with different parties when financial and technical agendas can be so different.
Anyway, just wanted to share my perspective. Someone is going to have to really believe in the Auracast business case (i.e. potential revenues are considerable more than certain costs) and I’m not sure I see that happening.