Hearables will play a much larger role in the wearables story in the coming years, according to market predictions we’ve reported from Gartner, IDC, and others. Valencell’s recent announcement of cuff-like blood pressure accuracy with a sensor it has developed for hearables and the company’s hearable sensor tech licensing and partnering with the likes of Sonion and Samsung all point to a potentially massive role in the hearable space for the North Carolina company. We’ve written about hearable products on the market, including products from Bose and NuHeara, the latter with its impressive IQBuds Boost.
Last month at CES 2020, Wear and Hear showed BeHear Now, a multifunction hearable headset that includes a self-administered hearing assessment. BeHear Now automatically applies the personalized data from the assessment to adjust voice and audio input levels including profiles for various hearing environments. BeHear Now uses the familiar reverse neck loop or shawl form factor with earbuds connected by thin cables and a rechargeable battery in the neckpiece rather than in the individual earbuds. According to Wear and Hear, battery life is 12 hours plus in hearing mode, 10 hours plus for phone use, and 8 hours plus for listening to music. Recharging via a USB charging cable takes about two hours.
Touted for its abilities with assisted listening, audio play, ambient hearing, and smartphone use, the BeHear Now hearable material claims the device enhances all of the covered functions. Four microphones and beamforming technology assist with sound location and AI algorithms help improve spoken word intelligibility. Using the ambient listening features, the headset adjusts the volume based on local sound and also employs active noise cancellation technology. If you find it hard to keep up with fast talkers during phone calls, BeHear’s EasyListen tech slows incoming speech dynamically to give you a better chance to process what they said.
BeHear Now is available for sale with free worldwide shipping for $249 from the Wear and Hear website. I may have a chance to try out the BeHear Now hearable and if I do I’ll cycle back to share my experience.
