On the heels of the AirPods launch two weeks ago, Bragi, the manufacturer of the Dash recently announced there will be updates to their hearable device. Among the updates to the Bragi Dash are improved quality of Bluetooth connectivity and increased range, improved waterproofing, an upgraded touch lock feature, and the ability to shuffle through songs on its interface. In addition, the Dash is reported to now be fully capable of synchronizing with the Google Fit and Apple’s Health Kit platforms.
Bragi Partners with Industry Mainstay, Knowles
Perhaps the biggest news most relevant to the hearing healthcare industry was the announcement by Bragi that they will be launching a new product called “The Headphone”. Completely wireless, the Headphone is reported to have a higher quality of sound with a 6 hour long battery life, which is a 50% increase compared to the Dash. Bragi’s Headphone is also reported to be a collaborative effort with Knowles, a company familiar to most hearing care professionals for manufacturing hearing aid components.
The announcement, made by Bragi’s CEO Nikolaj Hviid on Facebook Live, also stated that Bragi has now sold over 100,000 Dash hearables since its launch earlier this year.
Bragi’s Headphone is expected to cost $119, a price point lower than Apple’s AirPods. The Headphone is expected to become available at Bragi.com on 1st November 2016. The Headphone is one of several hearables believed to have hearing aid technology in them. The others reportedly with hearing aid technology are the Nuheara IQ and the Jabra Elite Sport.
Bragi and IBM Watson Partnership
Joaquin Pheonix, in Warner Bros. film Her
Movie goers may fondly recall the 2013 Spike Jonze film, Her, in which a man falls in love with his virtual personal assistance. The plot of Her involves the IBM Watson, which is an artificially intelligent computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language.
In what could prove be a bold move, Bragi announced a partnership with IBM Watson. This partnership was reported to be revolving around translating language in real time and giving relevant instruction to the user of the hearable device.
*featured image courtesy Bragi
