An Update on The Widex Beyond
By David Bryce on 22nd November 2016
Widex Releases More Info on The Beyond
Widex have now released a little more information on their new Made For iPhone hearing aid the Beyond. As we said in our recent article at EUHA (International Hearing Aid Conference in Germany) they introduced both the Beyond hearing aid and the Beyond app for smartphone. While Widex have now introduced a 2.4ghz BlueTooth radio to the Beyond (direct connection to the iPhone), it has retained both the WidexLink and a telecoil on the devices which gives a tri connection set-up.
Widex Link
Retaining the Widex Link makes complete sense, it is still without doubt, the single, best, high quality audio streaming system. The sound quality of streamed audio needs to be heard to be believed. Of course it will also mean that Widex users who upgrade their devices to the Beyond will still be able to use their existing Dex accessories. Retaining a T-Coil also makes some sense, the T-Coil system is an old but solid system and many experienced users of hearing aids are used to using the T-Coil in public places.
Widex
Beyond Hearing Aids
So what do we know about the Beyond? It is a Fusion device based on the Unique technology, and as we said it also has three radios onboard, the one for Widex Link, a telecoil and the new radio for direct iPhone connection making it possible to stream music and conduct phone calls directly to the hearing aid without any intermediary device. Widex Products are famous for their sound quality, now it appears that sound quality extends to the best sound Made for iPhone.
The Beyond App
User Fine Tuning?
The Beyond app seems to have the usual features, you can set geo locations for different sound programmes and make changes to how the hearing aids are working on the go. However, there also seems to be an element of self fine tuning on the app, whereby users can change the frequency response of the hearing aids. They are calling this feature the Preference Control and it seems to break down frequencies into three bands, Bass, Middle and Treble. It is interesting to see manufacturers begin to hand over this type of control to users.
The Beyond at present appears to be only a Fusion type hearing aid, however, it will be interesting to see how Widex expand the range. It is a little unusual that Widex has just delivered one device as opposed to a full range.
The Beyond range will soon be available in the UK and we are looking forward to trying it out. If you have any questions about the Beyond or indeed any hearing aids, why don't you give us a call on 01224 637255 and arrange an appointment to come in and see us.