- Auracast is being built into consumer devices from hearing aids, to speakers and phones, so that users can share or broadcast audio to multiple receivers.
- The technology is poised to benefit consumer experience around music and media consumption, but also serves the hearing impaired population with new functionality.
Adoption of Auracast, an audio broadcast feature leveraging Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.2 has gained enough momentum to reach consumers this year with a variety of products—smartphones, speakers, headphones and hearing aids, with some companies offering firmware upgrades to existing products.
Those are the early signs of an inflection point for the technology, according to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), as commercial pilots are underway and consumer products are being released.
The Auracast feature is based on specifications released by Bluetooth SIG and enables a single transmitter to send audio to an unlimited number of receivers, simultaneously, when they are within range of a speaker or transmitter.
On a consumer level it means smartphones or other devices can share audio with another device, or multiple devices over the system, known as LE Audio. The technology can serve hearing impairment applications, by enabling users to access audio relevant to a place or activity, either in ear buds, a headset or hearing aid. In the long-term, industrial solutions may provide specific audible content to a group of users in a place such as a factory.
Development Underway
To display and promote some of the ways Auracast can benefit users, Bluetooth SIG hosted an Auracast Experience Event at technology conference IFA 2024 in Berlin earlier this month. It demonstrated how the system can be experienced with headphones, speakers or hearing aids, said Chuck Sabin, Bluetooth SIG’s new market development leader.
Auracast is not new, but its adoption has accelerated recently with numerous companies developing products around the audio functionality.
One example is the Samsung S23 and S24 headphones as well as the Buds 2 Pro. Another examples are Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 and Accentum earbuds, JBL party box speakers and GN Resound Nexia hearing aids.
Auri System for Enhanced Audio
Additionally, Ampetronic and Listen Technologies announced their Aurocast-based Assistive Listening Solution, known as Auri, featuring transmitters for muti-channel broadcasting of audio across a venue or space. The system will enable those wearing hearing aids or headphones to receive broadcast audio.
The Auri technology is now being piloted in several different public locations.
“We’re excited about the fact that we have products in the pipeline that are enabling public spaces to leverage Auracast. It’s being done by leading companies that have been involved in public spaces for quite some time,” said Sabin.
Commercial Uses
Several major consumer electronics brands have announced products supporting Auracast on the receiving side as well. In January, JBL announced its Auracast-enabled Tour Pro-3 portable speakers for sharing sound. One Auracast enabled speaker could transmit sound to similar speakers within range, so that music could be shared by individuals.
Samsung has introduced the Auracast feature in its Galaxy S24 series of Android devices in which the phones become both transmitters and receivers for broadcasts. It is offering firmware upgrades to the S23 version to make them Auracast compatible.
Samsung’s Pro 2 Galaxy Buds can receive the transmissions as well, meaning someone with the earbuds could access another person’s Auracast-based audio, directly.
Hearing Impairment Solutions
The technology provides benefits for the hearing aid industry as well. Standard hearing aids using Bluetooth can suffer from hig- power consumption and low latency or delays. Those problems could be overcome with Auracast, while enabling users to access the audio experience of their choice.
For example, in a conference room with poor sound quality, an individual can use Aurocast to access the right sound level specific to what is being said or presented in the room if a transmitting microphone is in use.
As the technology is adopted more universally, hearing aids and the various other devices in an individual’s world could be compatible, Sabin added, meaning a user’s phone and the various Bluetooth enabled devices in the area can all transmit to the user’s hearing aids.
That level of deployment isn’t here yet but some hearing aid companies have been pioneering the systems. For instance, GN Resound Nexia hearing aids launched in November, 2023 with Auracast built in. And Phonak recently announced their Sphere hearing aids.
Alternatively, Apple AirPods recently gained approval from the FDA to be used as hearing aids, but amplifying sounds based on a test the AirPod users take focused on their hearing levels. The devices use a directional microphone feature and Bluetooth but not Auracast audio.
Most companies haven’t provided firmware capabilities yet to retrofit existing devices with the technology, but the fact that Samsung has been offering that firmware for its S23 is a good sign, Sabin said.
Passing the Chicken And Egg Phase
For years, Auracast has been in a chicken and egg dilemma, Sabin said. Companies who make the transmitters wanted to see adoption on the receiver side before investing in a new product. In the meantime, receiver products such as headsets and hearing aids couldn’t be often used without transmitters available.
“It’s like ‘hey if I’m going to build a transmitter I need to know that there’s a receiver,” Sabin said, “but now we’re reaching a point in time where there’s a sense of motion” where developers have faith that more products are coming, that would be compatible with their own Auracast technology.
Other Use Cases from Factories to Tours
In the future, earphones in factories could be set by operators for listening to broadcast from the industrial complex, specific to their task. And in a tour leading environment, an individual could wear a lapel microphone that transmits audio to receivers to improve the listening experience for those with hearing disabilities. Or a language interpreter could use an Auracast microphone to share comments from someone on stage, in the language of people’s choice.
“I may need translation or I may need speech enhancement or I just want to hear the individual as they speak—there are multiple different options available,” said Sabin.
Additionally, Auracast broadcasts can be password-protected for security if users choose to offer that feature in public places.
Channel Sounding Pinpoints Locations
Bluetooth SIG also recently announced the Channel Sounding functionality that leverages the Bluetooth specification for fine ranging capabilities.
While standard Bluetooth can identify when another Bluetooth devices is within range and the signal strength to approximate location, that data isn’t precise enough for some use cases. So the Bluetooth SIG has adopted Channel Sounding to add distance awareness to any Bluetooth device.
With return-signal strength (RSSI) in standard Bluetooth, users can gain a general sense of where something is. With Channel Sounding, the system can know exactly where another sensor is, but also the direction in which it is moving.
This feature could be of interested to the automotive sector, for use in accessing vehicles, for instance.
“It allows for a whole new slew of solutions in location services and directioning of devices, as well as digital key solutions,” Sabin said. “The fine ranging and positioning capabilities allow you to have more accurate presence, more accurate distance, more accurate direction, within devices.”
The specification was adopted in August.