Apple picker Last year, Apple put a lot of energy into developing new hearing devices that can communicate with the iPhone. This information first surfaced during February of this year and most recently last month. Apple has reportedly contacted all major hearing aid companies with an offer to lend its technology to their new products. The first devices communicating with iPhones should appear in the first quarter of 2014, the Danish manufacturer GN Store Nord will be behind them.
Apple has reportedly just collaborated with a Danish company on a device that includes Bluetooth-like technology. The mentioned device will be directly built into the hearing aid, which will eliminate the need for the presence of devices that until recently mediated the connection between the hearing aid and the iPhone.
GN Store Nord is one of the largest manufacturers of wireless headsets, so it had a certain edge over the competition, however, for example, Bluetooth technology is known for its high power consumption and the need for a large antenna. Of course, Apple didn't like this, so it bypassed all the manufacturers that it required to directly connect its phones to the hearing aids using the 2,4 GHz frequency. Meanwhile, GN was already working on the second generation of such devices, so an agreement was reached immediately. Even iPhones have been ready for this frequency since last year.
Apple is said to have been really actively involved in the development of the new technology, and someone was constantly commuting between California and Copenhagen. The protocol itself had to be addressed as well as the greatest possible reduction in battery demand. In addition, it is estimated that the size of this - still unloved new technology - market is huge, around 15 billion dollars.
