The ReSound LiNX, the world’s first Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) certified “Made for iPhone” or “MFi” hearing aid, made its retail debut today, in parallel with an iOS app purpose-made to give it highly flexible functionality. The LiNX hearing aid can connect wirelessly to any iOS device, including iPhones, iPads, and the iPod Touch. This allows telephone calls, music, and other audio media to be streamed directly to the wearer’s hearing aids, without the need for any intermediate device. Additionally, these devices can be used as remote controls to adjust the hearing aid’s function without removing it from the ear.
This release is significant because the direct connectivity between the ReSound LiNX and Apple iPhones (or other devices) makes this device far more convenient for users than competing products. The hearing aid itself contains Surround Sound technology which processes all sounds for maximum clarity and quality, regardless of its origin. Environmental sounds such as speech, vehicles, and so on are rendered in the same fashion as music or other sound streamed to the LiNX from an iOS device. Calls received on the iPhone are also sent to the hearing aids for maximum clarity, rather than needing to strain to hear a voice on the smartphone’s speaker
The app accompanying this important retail rollout is the ReSound Smart, offered through Apple’s (AAPL) App Store. This free app was released today for download to any device running iOS 7.0 or higher, and is currently optimized for the iPhone 5. No doubt a major update will be offered as soon as the iPhone hits store shelves sometime this year. This medical app is 18.4 megabytes and supports both the English and Danish languages at release.
Using the ReSound Smart app, users can control their hearing aid via input on their Apple (AAPL) device. Basic functions include volume and balance controls, plus treble and bass adjustments, which are highly useful but scarcely unexpected. However, the designers of the LiNX were far more ambitious than that, adding some cutting edge hearing aid features that have a nearly “science fiction” feel.
Using input through the iOS device, users can set up acoustic modes for their hearing aids, so that the sound levels and so on will adjust automatically depending on where the wearer currently is. For instance, different profiles can be set up for the office and the home. Geofencing functionality determines the user’s current physical location and changes hearing aid settings accordingly. A further detail is the “Find My Hearing Aid” function, which helps locate the hearing aids if they become lost in the clutter or forgotten in a pocket.
Using BlueTooth LE to achieve connectivity, the hearing aid’s power demands are minimal. Coupled with its other features and conveniences, there can be little doubt that the ReSound LiNX represents a major advance in hearing aid technology for Apple Inc. (AAPL) iOS users who want to hear conversations, place an iPhone call, and stream music from iTunes with equal ease using their hearing aids.
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