Resound has announced that the Nexia hearing aid is LE Bluetooth. This is aimed toward Auracast but does it also mean that they will link with Apple watch for streaming?
I hadn’t heard that Apple announced support for LE Audio anywhere. Much less watch. Did I miss it?
WH
I have an Apple Watch Series 8 Ultra. It has BT 5.3, but it uses classic BT for streaming. It’s not a MFi device, cannot link directly with MFi HA’s. So, I think Apple, in its watch design, is thinking more about its AirPod wearers, etc., which are classic BT devices. The AirPods are due for a redesign in 2024, and the AirPod Pro in 2025. No word yet on whether Apple plans to include BT LE Audio in any of that. I forget what blog, website, or whatever has said it, but there is the aphorism that major players have a hard time leaving behind the technologies that are making them a mint, and it is the startups that come along and steal their business away with newer, better technology. So perhaps in the hearing aid and audio industry, Phonak and Apple are in those sorts of positions in which it’s hard for them to turn away from their presently successful formulas.
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I have just decided to leave it another year to replace my aging iPhone 12 Pro, since Apple isn’t saying anything about LE Audio in the iPhone 15 Pro. Even though I only had the Omnias 6 months, I would have bought Nexias now if Apple supported LE Audio, so it’s all saving me a bundle of money!
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