The hearing aid manufacturer Sonova from Stäfa in the Swiss canton of Zurich has announced the launch of two new platforms under the group’s main brand, Phonak: Audéo Infinio and Audéo Sphere Infinio. According to a press release from the company, this is the company’s biggest market launch to date in its 77-year history.
Audéo Infinio uses a new single microchip: the Phonak ERA chip. According to the press release, it uses AI to set “new standards for sound quality, connectivity, and power management.” This reportedly significantly increases the Bluetooth connection range at the same time. The different variants of this platform on offer include Phonak Audéo R Infinio for mild to severe hearing loss, Phonak CROS R Infinio for untreated hearing loss in one ear, and Phonak Virto R Infinio, the first rechargeable personalized hearing aid from Phonak.
The other newly launched platform, Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio, is the first to work with the dual-chip AI technology. This means that besides the ERA chip, it also has Deepsonic, a real-time AI/deep neural network chip from Sonova’s own research and development. This has reportedly led to a breakthrough in speech understanding with background noise. Deepsonic displays 53 times greater processing power versus existing hearing aid AI.
According to Andi Vonlanthen, Global Head of Research and Development Hearing Instruments, Sonova has established a specific training and testing environment to optimize the chip’s performance. He added: “The entire process took many years and a significant investment in technology development. We are excited to see this innovation going to market now.” ce/mm
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