audioXpress January 2022 Looks Ahead at Speaker Technology Developments

Great articles, practical projects, reviews, and audio technology previews start the year in full force! That's what our readers will find in audioXpress January 2022, starting with an update on new materials and engineering approaches for loudspeakers, and articles by Charlie Hughes, Scott Dorsey, Frans de Wit, Ken Bird and Mike Harkins. Brent Butterworth reviews the Olive Pro earbuds, while Raj Senguttuvan from Knowles discusses differentiation for True Wireless Stereo (TWS) design and development.

Olive Union - the smart hearing company on a mission to make affordable hearing health a reality for everyone - is officially making its 2-in-1 true wireless earbuds and smart hearing aids available for purchase in the US for $299. According to the company based in Tokyo, Japan, the Olive Pro design combines FDA-Registered class II hearing aids with true wireless stereo and was intentionally made to look like conventional Bluetooth earbuds to combat the social and economic barriers of hearing loss.

There’s a lot happening in the true wireless stereo (TWS) category and this market update article intends to provide a quick overview of the state-of the-art technologies and platforms in the space, as well as some reference approaches in product design. This audioXpress Market Update addresses what is happening in this vibrant product category in 2021.

More than five years in development and after multiple iterations, Australian startup Nuheara achieved its goal with the Nuheara IQbuds2 MAX, a bridge toward truly smart hearables. This advanced design uses digital technology to bring hearing aid functionality into true wireless earbuds. audioXpress asked Brent Butterworth to try them and share his experience and evaluation. This article was originally published in audioXpress, July 2021.

Following the announcement of collaboration with Qualcomm, in October 2020, Jacoti BV, the Belgium-based medical technology company, now announced the immediate licensing availability of OTC Ready, Jacoti’s hearing software platform. OTC Ready enables headphone/earbud manufacturers using Qualcomm 51XX SoCs to address the likely requirements of the upcoming US over-the-counter hearing aid market.