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Sonova will wait with new Bluetooth standard: Happy with current solution
“The question is when the right time to change technology will be,” says the Sonova CEO.
While Denmark’s GN is gearing up for the company’s launch of the world’s first hearing aid with the necessary hardware and software for the new Bluetooth low energy standard built in, several other companies in the sector remain hesitant.
This applies to Danish rival Demant which would like to see a few more devices, such as TVs and phones, with the technology on the market first as well as having the technology thoroughly tested.
And at the world’s largest hearing aid manufacturer, Swiss Sonova, management is also taking a ”wait-and-see” approach.
The main argument here is that Sonova has been working for several years on its own connectivity technology that allows the company’s hearing aids to stream from all types of smartphones without intermediaries — what the company itself calls ”made for all” — or just MFA.
Sonova does not doubt GN’s statement that the new Bluetooth low energy standard will become standard in the very foreseeable future, but Sonova is still hesitant to rush the switch, according to the company itself.
”The question is when the right time to switch technology will be. I would think that those who don’t have MFA are in a somewhat different position than us because we have all the benefits of it. It connects with any Bluetooth device and there’s high stability in everything we do,” says Arnd Kaldowski, CEO of Sonova, in an interview with Marketwire at this week’s European Union of Hearing Aid Acousticians (EUHA) trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany.
”We are very happy with our MFA technology. Therefore, you shouldn’t be surprised if we move a little slower to the new Bluetooth low energy standard than others. It’s not because we’re not ready. It’s a management choice we have to make,” says Kaldowski.
The new standard is a major theme at this week’s industry trade show, as GN is also presenting its new top product, Resound Nexia, which has the technology built in.
~
“The question is when the right time to change technology will be,” says the Sonova CEO.
While Denmark’s GN is gearing up for the company’s launch of the world’s first hearing aid with the necessary hardware and software for the new Bluetooth low energy standard built in, several other companies in the sector remain hesitant.
This applies to Danish rival Demant which would like to see a few more devices, such as TVs and phones, with the technology on the market first as well as having the technology thoroughly tested.
And at the world’s largest hearing aid manufacturer, Swiss Sonova, management is also taking a ”wait-and-see” approach.
The main argument here is that Sonova has been working for several years on its own connectivity technology that allows the company’s hearing aids to stream from all types of smartphones without intermediaries — what the company itself calls ”made for all” — or just MFA.
Sonova does not doubt GN’s statement that the new Bluetooth low energy standard will become standard in the very foreseeable future, but Sonova is still hesitant to rush the switch, according to the company itself.
”The question is when the right time to switch technology will be. I would think that those who don’t have MFA are in a somewhat different position than us because we have all the benefits of it. It connects with any Bluetooth device and there’s high stability in everything we do,” says Arnd Kaldowski, CEO of Sonova, in an interview with Marketwire at this week’s European Union of Hearing Aid Acousticians (EUHA) trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany.
”We are very happy with our MFA technology. Therefore, you shouldn’t be surprised if we move a little slower to the new Bluetooth low energy standard than others. It’s not because we’re not ready. It’s a management choice we have to make,” says Kaldowski.
The new standard is a major theme at this week’s industry trade show, as GN is also presenting its new top product, Resound Nexia, which has the technology built in.
~
GN: New Bluetooth standard future-proofs Resound Nexia
According to GN, having the new standard included in the Nexia launch already gives a competitive advantage even though there are not many devices on the market with the new standard yet.
With its new top product on the hearing aid side, Resound Nexia, GN can showcase the first hearing aid that is able to use the new Bluetooth low-energy standard.
And even though there are not yet many TVs, computers, phones, and similar devices on the market with the new standard, which is an open software solution for everyone, GN says that having the new standard in the Nexia launch already gives it a competitive advantage.
There’s an element of future-proofing in it, says Scott Davis, who as of October is head of GN’s hearing aid business following the merger of GN Hearing and GN Audio into one company.
“A lot of hearing aid users keep their hearing aids for five years. So they want to make sure you can use it for that entire period,” says Davis during GN’s presentation at this week’s European Union of Audiologists (EUHA) trade fair in Nuremberg, where GN is also exhibiting Resound Nexia and showcasing the new streaming capabilities.
In the future — and for the relatively foreseeable future — GN expects that all hearing aids will utilize this option, as it is an open software and not a proprietary solution as has been the case in the past.
“The whole industry will move there. There’s no doubt about that. I think we’ll see different manufacturers moving at different paces, but it’s very much about being ready for it,” says Peter Karlströmer, CEO of GN, at the presentation.
Several of GN’s competitors are more hesitant about adopting the new Bluetooth standard—precisely because the rollout of products using the standard is still at a very early stage.
But according to GN itself, it is crucial to roll out the technology as soon as it is ready.
“The standard is done. There are products coming to the shelves that use it. We see TV, we see computers, and we see phones coming with the standard built in. The reason we’ve been so quick to get it into the launch is because we were part of the development team,” explains Brian Dam Pedersen, CTO at GN.
And even though the new Bluetooth low-energy standard is an open software solution, it also requires hardware work to make a product ready for the software update.
And that’s why GN management feels confident that having Resound Nexia ready to use the standard is a clear competitive advantage.
According to data from ABI Research, it is expected that around 3 billion devices with Bluetooth’s new low-energy standard will be shipped to electronics stores worldwide by 2027.
At the same time, it is expected that by 2030 there will be around 2.5 million locations globally where the technology and streaming with Auracast will be available~
~
CC: @JasonGalster
According to GN, having the new standard included in the Nexia launch already gives a competitive advantage even though there are not many devices on the market with the new standard yet.
With its new top product on the hearing aid side, Resound Nexia, GN can showcase the first hearing aid that is able to use the new Bluetooth low-energy standard.
And even though there are not yet many TVs, computers, phones, and similar devices on the market with the new standard, which is an open software solution for everyone, GN says that having the new standard in the Nexia launch already gives it a competitive advantage.
There’s an element of future-proofing in it, says Scott Davis, who as of October is head of GN’s hearing aid business following the merger of GN Hearing and GN Audio into one company.
“A lot of hearing aid users keep their hearing aids for five years. So they want to make sure you can use it for that entire period,” says Davis during GN’s presentation at this week’s European Union of Audiologists (EUHA) trade fair in Nuremberg, where GN is also exhibiting Resound Nexia and showcasing the new streaming capabilities.
In the future — and for the relatively foreseeable future — GN expects that all hearing aids will utilize this option, as it is an open software and not a proprietary solution as has been the case in the past.
“The whole industry will move there. There’s no doubt about that. I think we’ll see different manufacturers moving at different paces, but it’s very much about being ready for it,” says Peter Karlströmer, CEO of GN, at the presentation.
Several of GN’s competitors are more hesitant about adopting the new Bluetooth standard—precisely because the rollout of products using the standard is still at a very early stage.
But according to GN itself, it is crucial to roll out the technology as soon as it is ready.
“The standard is done. There are products coming to the shelves that use it. We see TV, we see computers, and we see phones coming with the standard built in. The reason we’ve been so quick to get it into the launch is because we were part of the development team,” explains Brian Dam Pedersen, CTO at GN.
And even though the new Bluetooth low-energy standard is an open software solution, it also requires hardware work to make a product ready for the software update.
And that’s why GN management feels confident that having Resound Nexia ready to use the standard is a clear competitive advantage.
According to data from ABI Research, it is expected that around 3 billion devices with Bluetooth’s new low-energy standard will be shipped to electronics stores worldwide by 2027.
At the same time, it is expected that by 2030 there will be around 2.5 million locations globally where the technology and streaming with Auracast will be available~
~
CC: @JasonGalster
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