Apple and Hearing Aids - What is iHear?
Posted by CENTURY HEARING
Apple has been working with several hearing aid manufacturing companies to ensure that the iPhones work well with hearing aids. In fact, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has a patent (Patent application no. 20130034234 filed in February) which allows iPhones to identify that the user has a hearing aid and adjusts itself accordingly. Seen as a boon to hearing impaired people, the ‘device’ would select between normal audio mode of operation and hearing aid compatible mode without the user’s manual intervention.
As part of the exercise, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) approached the world’s major manufacturers of hearing aids including Denmark’s GN Store Nord, the world’s fourth largest manufacturer of hearing aids. The idea was to develop a hearing aid which could also function as a speaker to receive audio from the mobiles. Our sources confirm that the first device may hit markets in the first quarter of 2014.
However, once the spark was ignited, it refused to die down. Both companies are now actively working on a product nicknamed ‘LiNK’ which will allow users to stream music as well from their iPhones. Working on Bluetooth, the device will be cosmetically superior to the current hearing aids. Do you seriously believe that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is eying the $15 billion market for hearing aids (though it is one-third the size of the smartphone market)?
Just like Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple is also toying with a wearable computer
Read all about it here http://news.yahoo.com/denmark-targets-iphone-generation-keep-edge-hearing-aids-095203359--sector.html
And here http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57613736-37/made-for-iphone-hearing-aids-aim-to-shake-stigma/
And here http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/11/25/apple-hearing-aid-iphone/
More here http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/25/first-fully-integrated-made-for-iphone-hearing-aids-are-set-to-hit-the-market
As part of the exercise, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) approached the world’s major manufacturers of hearing aids including Denmark’s GN Store Nord, the world’s fourth largest manufacturer of hearing aids. The idea was to develop a hearing aid which could also function as a speaker to receive audio from the mobiles. Our sources confirm that the first device may hit markets in the first quarter of 2014.
However, once the spark was ignited, it refused to die down. Both companies are now actively working on a product nicknamed ‘LiNK’ which will allow users to stream music as well from their iPhones. Working on Bluetooth, the device will be cosmetically superior to the current hearing aids. Do you seriously believe that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is eying the $15 billion market for hearing aids (though it is one-third the size of the smartphone market)?
Just like Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Apple is also toying with a wearable computer
Read all about it here http://news.yahoo.com/denmark-targets-iphone-generation-keep-edge-hearing-aids-095203359--sector.html
And here http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57613736-37/made-for-iphone-hearing-aids-aim-to-shake-stigma/
And here http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/11/25/apple-hearing-aid-iphone/
More here http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/25/first-fully-integrated-made-for-iphone-hearing-aids-are-set-to-hit-the-market
SHARE:
