Most of take our phones out the box when we buy them, turn them on, and we’re good to go. However there might be some users who unfortunately do not have that luxury as there are other things to consider, such as accessibility features and whether or not certain devices are compatible.

Thankfully for Android users, it looks like Google is bringing native hearing aid support onto Android (via Engadget). Google cites the WHO who claims that around 466 million people in the world suffer from disabling hearing loss, and that number is expected to nearly double by 2050, which means that over time accessibility features are becoming increasingly important.

Working together with GN Hearing, Google is helping to create a new and open specification for hearing aid streaming support in future builds of Android. Google is also going to help manufacturers add this native support using the Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids spec. This is said to offer up low-latency and high quality audio, all the while minimizing the impact on battery life.

GN Hearing will be the first manufacturer to take advantage of this spec, and will be applicable to the ReSound LiNX Quattro and Beltone Amaze hearing aids following a future Android update.

Filed in Audio >Cellphones. Read more about and .

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