Low Energy Audio – Creating New Standard In Bluetooth-transferred Audio

After long years of development of Bluetooth-based devices and accessories, as well as the technology itself, we soon may be welcoming to the market new solutions leveraging Low Energy Audio. This technology can be applied to many various devices, including hearing aids.

LE Audio is a new technology proposed by Bluetooth developers. According to many, it will revolutionize the audio market, particularly from the wireless connectivity perspective. The Low Complexity Communications Codec (LC3) is one of the factors which make this technology stand out. It provides significantly higher audio quality in comparison with the SBC codec used in classic audio technology, even when the data rates are very low. LE Audio sounds impressive given all the promising features it can unlock.

LE Audio Technology – Crucial Features And Advantages

One of the biggest and most easily noticeable advantages of LE Audio is the fact that it uses less battery power when turned on, in comparison with Bluetooth Classic-based solutions. This feature arises directly from the implementation of the above-mentioned LC3. As a result, the device can be used for a much longer period of time than the ones we’re used to. All that without audio quality deterioration, which always stays top-notch.

Another exciting but also useful feature is Broadcast Audio, which allows the source device, such as a smartphone or a tablet, to broadcast one (or more) audio streams to an infinite number of devices. This seems particularly practical both during private gatherings when you want to share music or watch a movie with friends and family, and in public locations, such as conference centers, airports, cinemas, or even bars, where given sounds can positively affect visitors’ experience.

Moreover, LE Audio enables better synchronization between the audio source device and multiple sink devices. This is made possible by the deployment of the Multi-Stream function. This feature seems especially applicable in the case of pairing a smartphone with earbuds. Multi-Stream is supposed to improve the quality of stereo imaging, voice assistance services, and switching between audio sources.

Bluetooth LE Audio could also revolutionize the lives of the hard of hearing, as the technology is expected to be particularly useful in the creation of hearing aids. The goal in this area is to enable people suffering with hearing difficulties to fully enjoy everyday activities such as using smartphones and watching TV. In addition, developers of LE Audio consider using the technology in the production of hearing implants someday, which would be a huge step in treating deafness.

Development of Comarch’s LE Audio-based products

LE Audio technology proposed by Bluetooth was officially announced at the beginning of this year. There are no specialist products leveraging it yet, and those that are being custom-made by some companies still, in many cases, need more testing and perfecting. In Comarch, we see great potential to use this technology in our devices, and hope that we get to experiment with it in the near future.

We are also in the middle of consultations with a few of our clients regarding the implementation of Bluetooth LE Audio applications in future cooperation, which shows that the interest is real and we’re open to the idea of modernizing our solutions.

If you’d like to discover more about solutions offered by Comarch, especially those involving software and hardware services, visit our website or contact us using the dedicated form.

Katarzyna Strzebońska, Comarch IoT