Skip to main content

World’s first ‘Made for iPhone’ hearing aid launches in the UK

apple collaborates on worlds smartest hearing aid resound

The fact that Apple has been hiring health-related experts to work on fitness-focused aspects of its rumored smartwatch means it won’t come as too much of a surprise to learn that the tech giant has also been collaborating with a company in the medical field on the development of a new product for the hearing-impaired.

Denmark-based GN ReSound worked with Apple on its new hearing aid, which it unveiled last week. The device, called LiNX and dubbed “the world’s smartest hearing aid,” syncs wirelessly with all iDevices, making use of iOS 7’s new accessibility options for the hearing-impaired.

Updated by Williams Pelegrin on 4-03-2014: The LiNX has launched in the UK now as well. It’s available from all “good” independent hearing aid dispensers. No word on whether ReSound will make a “Made for Android” version of the LiNX.

The LiNX is the smallest hearing aid ReSound has ever made.
The LiNX is one of the smallest hearing aids ReSound has ever made.

According to CNN, LiNX is “a hybrid of hearing aids and stereo Bluetooth headphones,” picking up and amplifying sounds in the vicinity while also being able to make use of a smartphone’s various features, including making phone and FaceTime calls, playing music, getting turn-by-turn directions, and so on.

Apple’s development team has included some neat little extras too. For example, a user can input custom settings in the device’s app for different environments, so you could choose particular volume, bass, and treble levels for your local movie theater, while at home you’d probably opt for a different set of audio levels. With the iPhone’s GPS functionality enabled, the device will switch to your custom settings automatically depending on your location.

Another feature, Live Listen, utilizes an iOS device’s microphone, so if a hearing-impaired person is trying to converse in a particularly noisy environment, the mic can be used to cancel out irrelevant noise and send a live stream direct from the speaker to the person’s ear piece.

The LiNX hearing aid is tiny, and is one of the smallest ReSound has ever made. It comes with its own iOS app offering a range of features, among them a ‘find my hearing aid’ tool that’s almost certain to come in useful from time to time.

With so many people seeking help for hearing loss sometimes years after the problem first surfaces – in part because of the stigma attached to wearing what many still believe to be bulky, unsightly contraptions – ReSound is hoping its new ultra-versatile hearing aid will encourage more people to get help sooner.

“The association with Apple is going to make a great difference in getting people in the door in the first place,” audiologist Dr. Smith told CNN.

The LiNX, which comes with a hefty $3000 price tag, is classed as a specialized medical device, so don’t expect to see it at your local Apple store anytime soon.

Unfortunately there’s no option for Android users just now, though who knows, perhaps Samsung is already on the case.

(Images: ReSound LiNX)

Article originally published 3-06-2014.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
You simply have to see this amazing fan-made folding iPhone
Foldable iPhone in hand.

Foldable phones are notoriously difficult to master, and Samsung had to endure a colossal display quality failure before breaking through with the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4. Apple, on the other hand, is still on the fence and may be waiting for the tech to fully mature before it makes a splash with a potential foldable iPhone.

However, one team of enthusiasts couldn't wait any longer and created its own working foldable iPhone. Now, unlike a lot of other smartphone DIY projects such as the one-off iPhone X with a USB-C port, the foldable iPhone wonder looks like a well-crafted unit. It took well over 200 days to make, but it still has a few fundamental shortcomings.

Read more
I’ve loved my first two days with the safe, familiar iPhone 14 Pro
The Deep Purple color iPhone 14 Pro.

Apple is happy with its smartphone formula. This much is clear because the iPhone 14 Pro isn’t that much different from the iPhone 13 Pro, which wasn’t all that far removed from the iPhone 12 Pro. While some bemoan the lack of visual changes between recent generations, what really matters is if the entire package has improved with each numerical uptick.

My iPhone 14 Pro arrived on Friday, September 16, and that’s not enough time for a full review — but it is more than enough for a close look at what the iPhone 14 Pro is like. It's familiar, like a safe pair of hands. And no, this isn't the downside you may first think it is.
The iPhone 14 Pro is just so seamless
If you own an iPhone, changing over to your new iPhone 14 Pro is a wonderfully simple process, and it leads you into ownership in exactly the right, comfortable, convenient way. From Apple providing free iCloud storage to make swapping apps, photos, and settings simple, to the way all your home screens are identically replicated on the new device, it’s like you never left the old one.

Read more
Apple to use zero-emission recycled aluminum in iPhone SE
Woman mixing smelting aluminum.

Apple has announced that its iPhone SE will use aluminum that has been smelted with zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Canadian manufacturing partner Elysis has been able to crank out aluminum ingots at a commercial scale and purity while only producing oxygen emissions. Since Quebec is flush with hydroelectric power, the energy used in the process is renewable too. Apple first used this aluminum with its 16-inch 2019 MacBook Pro. Research into the smelting technology was made possible by Apple's Green Bonds. These bonds have been able to funnel investment into eco-friendly projects since 2016.

The fund is a whopping $4.7 billion, so lots of other projects are on the way. The 50 currently on the books from the 2019 fund are expected to offset 2.9 million tons of CO2.  One of these projects will be building wind turbines in Denmark. These will in turn power a local Apple data center. Apple boasts that with the help of its Green Bonds, more than 175 manufacturing partners across 24 countries have pledged to only use renewable energy when making Apple products. With any luck, this will help it claim carbon neutrality along its entire production line by 2030.  
Apple has been using recycled aluminum in its products since at least 2015, and claims that since then it has reduced its carbon emissions from aluminum production by almost 70%. That's great, but recycling aluminum is low-hanging fruit. Much of commercial aluminum is already recycled since mining bauxite ore is expensive and our recycling infrastructure for aluminum is well-established. 
E-waste is a much tougher problem to solve. To that end, we're eager to see how Apple's upcoming self-repair program pans out and expands. The longer we can keep using our devices, the longer we can keep them out of landfills. 

Read more