Google Announces Android 15 Update to Enhance Hearing Aid Support

On May 30, IT Home reported that Google announced that the Android 15 update will improve the platform's support for hearing aids. The latest version of the system will work with hearing aids that support Bluetooth LE Audio.

Since the release of Android 10 in 2019, Google has started to support hearing aids in the system. The device can amplify ambient sounds to help users hear more clearly. In addition, many sounds come from mobile phones, so most hearing aids now support Bluetooth connections for listening to music, watching videos, etc.

However, as hearing aids need to be online all day, and the regular Bluetooth connection has the problem of excessive power consumption, so companies like Apple and Google have created their own dedicated hearing aid protocols based on Bluetooth LE.

Apple has the Made for iPhone (MFi) hearing aid protocol, which was introduced in iOS in 2013; Google has the Hearing Aid Audio Streaming (ASHA) protocol, which was introduced into the system along with the release of Android 10 in 2019. However, although there are various hearing aids on the market that are compatible with MFi and ASHA, the fragmentation problem still exists.

To this end, Google will support the standardized method of Bluetooth low energy LE to transmit audio in Android 15 to improve the compatibility of hearing aids.

IT Home noted that this update will also provide better hearing aid management functions, such as the ability to quickly set options, the ability to change presets, and the ability to view the power level of hearing aids.