Google continues to work to make the Android operating system more accessible. At the Galaxy Unpacked event last week, the company announced that it started Le Audio compatibility for hearing aids with Android 16.
Le Audio is Bluetooth’s newest audio standard and replaces classic Bluetooth sound profiles such as A2DP. This new standard consists of a series of profiles running on Bluetooth low energy and offers innovative features such as Auracast as well as hearing aids support. Hearing aids that use Le Audio have improved performance, better battery life and increased compatibility with various platforms.
Android 16, Le Audio -backed hearing aids allows users to adjust the level of the environment sound taken by the microphones of the device. This feature will be useful when the background noise is too high or very low.
Users will be able to control the environment sound level for the left, right or both headphones through a new “environment” option in the hearing aid settings menu. You will also have the option to quickly silence or open the sound from the environment.
Android 16 also offers the possibility of transition between microphones
Android 16, Le Audio hearing aid also offers users the opportunity to switch between the built -in microphones of hearing aids during voice calls and the microphone of their phones. This feature may be useful in noisy environments or in other cases where the microphones of the hearing aid do not perform adequate. It will also be possible to extend the battery life by passing the microphone to the phone when the hearing aid decreases.
These new features are available with Android 16 beta 1 version. Users with Le Audio -supported hearing aids can experience these innovations on Android 16 Beta 1 installed devices.
With such improvements, Google aims to make it easier for hearing aid users to make their daily lives even easier. Fast Pair support is also expected to be offered soon for hearing aids, which will make users more easily matching their new hearing aids with Android devices.