A Look into the World of Hearables
Hearables are smart headphones that offer a a variety of features not available in todays ordinary headphones. The most common features include fitness tracking, realtime language translation and hearing amplification. In this article we will take a closer look at some of the featues, design and price points of three well known hearables.
Vinci
Vinci was the first company to go for a standalone device that does not require a smart phone as it has it’s own 3G/WiFi and local storage. Their early generation 1.0 and 1.5 versions were over the ear based and bragged incredible sound quality, cloud streaming, noise filters, AI voice control and activity tracking (GPS and heart rate) all in one unit. Their newer generation 2.0 is not shipping as of today, but is selling for half the price of the previous generation $99 uses a neck based / ear buds. The Vinci 2.0 Super includes a bone conduction mic which means you can speak quietly even in crowded places to the device. It also includes 32GB of memory and sells for $259. It’s beautiful withe the HD display and gesture controls, but not waterproof. See the detailed specs below for the three models of Vinci 2.0:
Bragi
Bragi is a German based company that has produced the Dash Pro that has 4D menu which you can use head gestures to navigate. This device sells today for $260 and includes an AI activity tracker which works for running, cycling and swimming. These are fully waterproof and include 30 hours of battery life. They measure can measure distance, steps, calories, heart rate, speed, cadence, lengths and breaths. These headphones can use the Bragi App to translate over 100 languages and include 4GB of onboard storage.
Nuheara
Nuheara took a different approach than the other hearable companies and decided to produce a high fidelity and relatively low cost hearing aid. While most hearing aids start at $2,000 the BOOST model is $500. These IQbuds calibrate to match your hearing and have the ability to focus the conversation to sound as if it is directly in front of you. Nuheara has developed a technology called SINC (Super Intelligent Noise Control) to balance out the noise surrounding the user and speech. Of course like any hearable these can take calls, stream television or just play music. No more replacing tiny hearing aid batteries as these are rechargable and can go up to 32 hours in hearing processing mode.
