Since I myself do not use a hearing aid, I am not in a good position to know
how useful this would be. But it sounds good. And I know we do have some folks
on these lists who are both visually and hearing impaired. So, in the hope that
this could be of use, here you are.
Mary
Apple brings AirPod-style streaming, Live Listen accessibility to MFi hearing
aids
AppleInsider
Apple has enhanced its iOS accessibility features for users with hearing
impairments, adapting its enhanced Bluetooth-based streaming to Made For iPhone
hearing aids while introducing Live Listen, a feature that uses an iPhone's mic
to focus on conversations in loud environments.
Apple first introduced MFi support for Bluetooth hearing aids in iOS 7 and
iPhone 4s. Its latest software expands support for direct streaming of phone
calls, FaceTime conversations, movies and other audio to supported hearing
aids, without the need for a middleman device known as a "streamer."
Apple has worked with a series of hearing aid manufacturers to enable advanced
Bluetooth streaming support, as detailed in a support page.
New iOS 10 hearing aid features integrate device battery life and independent
base, treble, right and left volume controls, and supports audiologist-designed
presets for handling sound from concerts or restaurants. Using geolocation,
devices can even automatically recognize when the user walks into, say, a
Starbucks, and their hearing aids can adjust automatically. It also supports a
"find my hearing aid" feature.
This enhanced, built in support for hearing aids borrows technology developed
for AirPods, the company's new wireless headphones leveraging Apple's
proprietary new W1 chip for effortless, flexible device pairing.
Apple's integrated bundling of an audio streamer for users with hearing
impairments is similar to its previous introduction of Voice Over, the screen
reader technology introduced for iPods, the iOS devices and Macs.
By building such accessibility features into the OS level for free, third party
developers can take full advantage of Apple's screen reading and streaming
technologies because they know they will be available on every device.
Previously, users with disabilities had to buy a bolted on solution that
required specialized support from app developers.
In addition to supporting audio originating on the phone, the new Live Listen
feature (above) also allows users to relay focused audio picked up by the
iPhone's mic, enabling clearer conversations when in a loud environment.
In a report for CNET, Shara Tibken detailed how individuals are taking
advantage of Apple's latest accessibility technologies to remain productive and
erase barriers.
Tibken noted that Google doesn't offer similar streaming support built into
Android. The company is stymied to deploy Apple's level of tight integration
across Android devices because it has no control over the hardware features its
partners chose to support in their own phones making use of some version of
Android software.
Original Article:
http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/11/05/apple-brings-airpod-style-streaming-live-listen-accessibility-to-mfi-hearing-aids
Sent from my iPhone
