Interesting. In looking at the following Resound website which details compatibility, it appears that right now, Auracast is only supported by Android devices. If you scroll past the general connectivity - which includes iPhones - there’s a section mentioning Auracast, and right now, only Android devices are listed.
The large heading: “ Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) Audio Streaming & Auracast™ Broadcast Audio””
The experience seems to be unpredictable at this time. So I’ll be curious what iPhone users report as time goes on with the new update to the app. The Vivia seems to really be promoting the Assistant. So, hopefully Apple also formally introduces it in their advertising soon.
Currently no iPhone at all supports Bluetooth LE Audio.
Apple are supposed to be using a different wireless chipset in the iPhone 17, so our best hope is that they will include LE Audio in the iPhone 17 range, due for announcement in autumn 2025.
Hopefully with iPhones as far back as the 14 supporting Bluetooth 5.3, they’ll support Auracast. I know that just because a device has Bluetooth 5.3, it does not mean it’ll have Auracast. But I could see it potentially announced as an iOS 19 feature given the hype for iOS 19, and theoretically then some phones, not only the most recent could support Auracast if Apple made that decision. So we shall see. I am hoping I hear something prior to updating my existing iPhone 13 Pro Max. I plan to upgrade to the 17 line in October 2025. But it’s always a risk given that Resound ONE seemed to promote the new LE Audio as a future feature due to it having Bluetooth 5.2. But it ended up that the Nexia and Vivia were the ones that benefited: likely due to Bluetooth 5.3 being the necessary standard. Thankfully, Cochlear has announced support for Auracast as well - formally with its N8.
So hopefully soon! It would definitely encourage adoption of Auracast once Apple supports it.
Currently, the iPhone supports starting the Auracast stream to Hearing Aids/headphones (LE audio) via the Resound Smart 3D app in “Assistant” mode.
I have it running on an iPhone 13 mini with Nexia 5.
The Auracast stream in Public mode is transmitted via a FlooGoo FMA120 USB dongle from two Win 11 computers (these notebooks do not support LE audio).
In addition, I have a working connection to Auracast streams from Resound devices: Streamer TV2+ and Multimic+.
The Smart 3D app allows you to quickly switch between streams from these devices.
I will soon be testing with headphones that support the LE Audio standard, e.g. Samsung Buds 3 Pro or Sony WF-1000XM5.
I also hope that the iPhone 17 will already have LE Audio.
Oh that’s wonderful! Online it just mentions that iPhone doesn’t support Auracast, and the link I originally submitted from the Resound website is careful to separate out the general streaming category with the Auracast category. And Auracast only has Android as a device.
—> The website mentions 5.3 as the minimum version of Bluetooth supported for Auracast. The iPhone 13 Mini that you have is listed as having 5.0 Bluetooth, whereas the rest of the iPhones (14 and on) have 5.3.
Is it possible Resound was somehow granted special access in some protocol? It’s so interesting. The dongle you mentioned does support Bluetooth Classic as well. But I know Resound doesn’t support that.
Interestingly, the iPhone 13 line with mini has Bluetooth 5.0 and the rest of the iPhone line (14 and on have 5.3). I find that interesting that you’re able to use Resound Assist.
I might be wrong but my understanding is that you don’t really need the device to be auracast-compatible if the app is acting as an assistant. The phone (OS) being the assistant is convenient since you’d see and select broadcasts from the device menus not just the app?
Essentially the need for an assistant is because the hearing aids (unfortunately :'D) don’t have displays on them as an interface for input. Not necessarily the phone is the one who’s scanning for broadcasts and connecting to one, no, it’s the HA.
Oh ok. I’m seeing USB dongles online that connect directly to the iPhone, which suggests to me that this is how those are compatible with Auracast for the time-being. But is it the case that the Resound Auracast Assistant is working without a USB dongle connected to the iPhone?
Oh. Does the iPhone require any connection or input to a dongle for the Resound Assistant to work? Is the Resound app allowing the iPhone to work with full Auracast capability, or is it limited? I ask this because you mentioned “Assistant” mode as the only way it works. But the way Resound advertises it, people should use the Resound Assistant. But maybe I misunderstood. Thank you so much for the detail, and congratulations on your set up. Oh! I guess you mean it would be nice if Auracast was supported natively within the iPhone interface? So we are not limited to the Resound Auracast “Assistant,” correct?
Thanks
I wish the Resound hearing aid could directly connect to a Mac or any computer that either directly supports Auracast or through a dongle. (Only the newest Macs support made for iPhone though - but I would like to see Auracast). But I wonder if we will need to still use Resound accessories at that point.
Are you using the Resound accessories for your PC connection to your hearing aids? I would hope that wouldn’t be necessary with the dongle you use. But you did mention “Assistant” mode and “Public” mode, so is it limited right now?
In addition:
The implemented Assistant function in the Smart 3D application does not require the existence of the Auracast functionality and the LE Audio protocol in the phone on which it works.
It also does not require any direct connection of the iPhone to the dongle.
It searches for devices with an Auracast stream and connects the ones selected by the user directly to HA Resound, bypassing the phone. The phone is only a “selector” of the stream.
For me, it works on iPhone 13 mini, Sony Xperia 1V and Galaxy S25.
In the latter two, you can also select the Auracast stream directly in the Android system, without using an additional application. Then we can connect to HA and headphones of the LE Audio standard.
Resound accessories are universal and I use them e.g. with TV or other devices, because they have optical and/or 3.5 headphone inputs.
They are also powered by the USB-c input (Streamer TV 2+) or have a battery (Multimic+).
