Beyond the Hype: An Honest Look at Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio
On August 6, 2024, Phonak released the Audéo Sphere Infinio, to perhaps the greatest fanfare of any hearing aid release…ever. Nearly 1,000 hearing care providers from across the US attended the 3-day launch event held in Las Vegas, at none other than the immersive video and audio auditorium—Sphere.
As someone fortunate to have a front-row seat in the hearing aid world, I had the chance to attend the event and sneak a peek at what Phonak had been quietly cooking up for the last five years.
I arrived skeptical. Having been in the industry the better part of two decades, I’ve seen my share of, shall we say, frothy claims from hearing aid manufacturers. Anyone remember that fuel cell technology-powered hearing aid that was announced a few years back, and then just…vaporized?
And look, I left Vegas skeptical as well. I wasn’t going to ‘drink the Kool Aid’ Phonak was serving up—no matter how tasty it looked—until the data was in: customer reviews, and laboratory tests. Well, the data is in. And, I’ve now been using the Audéo Sphere Infinio 90 model for a week. I’m not skeptical anymore.
Headlines From This Release
Before I give you my hot takes on these hearing aids, let’s review the most buzz-worthy headlines.
Real-Time AI Sound Processing With a Dedicated Deep Neural Network—DEEPSONIC—Chip
This is complicated stuff, but I’ll keep it as simple as possible.
How Traditional Hearing Aids Work
Traditional hearing aids enhance speech recognition using algorithms written by humans. These algorithms, in coordination with directional microphones—which Phonak has also been a leader in— give hearing aids a sort of “tunnel vision,” helping the wearer focus in on and hear the speech they want. This combination has been the gold standard in separating speech from background noise for the last 20 years.
How Hearing Aids With Deep Neural Networks Work
A hearing aid that uses a deep neural network—like the Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio— still relies on traditional algorithms and directional microphones, but it also benefits from the advanced capabilities of deep neural networks (DNNs).
A DNN in a hearing aid can be thought of as almost like its own entity—like a technological ‘brain’—that has learned, with guidance from engineers— how to identify patterns in sounds on its own.
To train or "teach" the DNN, Phonak researchers collected diverse sound samples from various environments and labeled them to indicate whether they contain speech. This data is then fed/uploaded to the DNN where it begins an iterative process of learning to recognize patterns in speech versus background noise.
What's remarkable about deep neural networks is that, as they process more data, they can identify patterns that engineers might not have even anticipated. This ability allows the DNN to become highly effective at distinguishing important sounds, such as speech, from noise in ways traditional algorithms cannot.
Once trained, the DNN is integrated into the hearing aid—on the DEEPSONIC AI chip—enabling real-time adjustments to the settings based on the surrounding sounds.
When you read Phonak’s press releases or various articles online about this technology, you'll notice a feature called "Spheric Speech Clarity." This term is a more consumer-friendly and marketable way of describing the deep neural network (DNN) and real-time artificial intelligence (AI) processing.
But How Does This All Actually Help You?
It all comes down to what’s called signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). For hearing aid manufacturers, improving the SNR is the name of the game. The goal is for hearing aids to boost the signal (which is what you want to hear), and reduce the noise (all the background racket). As the SNR improves, so does speech understanding.
Phonak has released a study (image below) proving that Phonak Sphere hearing aids using a DNN can provide up to a 100% better SNR ratio as compared to ‘key competitor devices.’
But how do you know all this tech actually makes the Sphere hearing aid objectively better than alternatives?
HearAdvisor Ranks Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio #1 in Noise
Historically, there has been no way for consumers to know—at scale— if one hearing aid was objectively better than another in a particular category. That changed when in Spring 2023, an enterprising trio composed of two Doctors of Audiology and one Doctor of Hearing Science launched HearAdvisor.com—America's Leading Independent Hearing Aid Evaluation Laboratory.
Their mission statement is “to provide consumers with the objective data they need to make more informed hearing aid purchasing decisions.” HearAdvisor has just concluded testing the Sphere, and here’s how it stacks up to competitor devices in noisy environments:
When you read user reviews on this page and around the web, that #1 spot feels justified.
Here’s a couple excerpts from reviews we’ve received on this page—
Stephen says:
“The Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinity provides the best experience in noisy conditions. Recently, at a gathering before a concert, I was able to use the app to dial in enough gain to hear all the people at the table.”
Larry says:
“I can say without a doubt these hearing aids are the best I have ever worn. Where they really shine is hearing situations that have loud background noise… I was blown away at how well they performed, technology is wonderful.”
The DEEPSONIC chip with real-time AI sound processing is the most important headline from this release, and the headlines that follow—while still important— are a bit anticlimactic.
Let’s lighten the mood with a topic a bit more accessible and fun: Bluetooth.
These Hearing Aids Are Auracast™ Ready
Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio hearing aids are equipped with Bluetooth 5.3 and are Auracast™-ready. Auracast is a new Bluetooth feature that enables audio streaming to multiple devices simultaneously.
Here’s a real world example of how I intend to use Auracast:
Whenever my wife and I are flying, we like to watch a movie on a tablet. The problem is, we have to share a set of AirPods—we each get one: right or left. Now let’s get back to that Auracast feature—’enables audio streaming to multiple devices simultaneously.’
That means in the coming years— AirPods and iPads do not support Auracast at the moment—we’ll each be able to use our own set of AirPods, while streaming from the same iPad.
What Auracast Means For Hearing Aid Wearers
There are quite a few applications. Any venue you can think of that broadcasts audio—churches, theaters, airports—will all be able to broadcast that audio directly into Auracast-enabled hearing aids.
In the coming years you’ll be able to Bluetooth-pair your phone to an Auracast transmitter at one of these venues, and—if you want—the audio from the venue’s sound system will stream directly into your hearing aids, bypassing the microphones on your hearing aids.
Phonak isn’t ready to enable the Auracast functionality in these hearing aids just yet—but that doesn’t matter, because Auracast transmitters are not installed in venues yet anyways. We’re still a few years out from this being mainstream tech.
At an undisclosed future date, Phonak is going to release a firmware update to enable Auracast. Getting this firmware update will require a brief visit to your hearing provider’s office where they will download the update onto your hearing aids.
Some of you may be scratching your head at this point.
A moment ago I wrote that these hearing aids have Bluetooth 5.3, but I also said they’re Auracast-ready, and Auracast requires Bluetooth LE Audio (which is different from Bluetooth 5.3)… so what gives?
My assumption is that Sphere hearing aids were designed with the necessary hardware capabilities to support Bluetooth LE Audio, and then when the Auracast firmware update happens, the Bluetooth LE Audio will be activated.
I am pretty sure the above is true—since the hearing aids are advertised as Auracast-ready— and there are well-informed hearing providers online saying the aids have Bluetooth LE Audio, but I wanted to actually find a source from Phonak.
I did attempt to chase down an answer on this as we’d already been asked by a commenter on our Sphere YouTube video, and by some customers.
I called and spoke to a few different audiologists at Phonak who didn’t know the answer, and when I reached out to corporate via another channel, here’s the response I got:
“At this time we are focusing on Auracast as a future firmware update for the ERA chip, and maintaining the Bluetooth 5.3 communication protocols (A2DP for stereo streaming and Hands Free Profile for connecting with phones and computers for two-way communication) as it currently allows for the greatest number of connections to devices on the market…. Currently there is no official comment on larger LE Audio capabilities.“
To be clear, I don’t think this is an issue at all—I just wanted to address it because we'd been asked about it. I think the lack of communication on Bluetooth LE Audio is probably due to it just not being important for the time being. Phonak’s statement above is correct— currently the Bluetooth 5.3 protocol does provide the widest connectivity to devices. For example, even my relatively new and high end iPhone 13 Pro Max doesn't even have Bluetooth LE Audio yet.
Other Headlines from the Release
Phonak’s press release does have a few other headlines, and they’re impressive, but I’m not sure they deserve much coverage here.
- 45% reduction in listening effort
- 21% less fatigue
- 93% user preference from the first fit compared to leading competitor
It's worth noting that the first two claims come from a June 2024 study on the previous generation Phonak Audéo Lumity, not specifically this new model. You will absolutely get those two benefits with the new Phonak model, as the feature which yielded those positive results (Speech Enhancer) is also in the Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio…it’s just not a new feature or statistic.
Additionally, the 93% user preference statistic was derived from a test against only one competitor's product, which is unnamed. I’m not sure how significant or applicable that 93% statistic is for potential users.
Okay—let’s get to the fun stuff!
Unboxing The Audéo Sphere Hearing Aids
A pair of Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio 90 hearing aids
Phonak is currently making this hearing aid in only 2 technology levels— 70 and 90. If you have no idea what a technology level is, you’ll be happy to know that yours truly is also a YouTuber-extraordinaire, and I’ve made a video on this very topic. I ordered a pair of the 90s (the best ones), in the Sand Beige color, because as of October 2024, that is the most popular tech level and color our customers are ordering.
Charger
Technically, it’s called the ChargerGO RIC Sphere I (that’s an ‘i’, for Infinio). It fully charges the hearing aids in 3 hours, providing up to 24 hours of use. With a built-in lithium-ion battery, the charger offers up to 3 full charges on the go, making it ideal for travel. It includes a USB-C cable and wall plug for flexible charging. While technically sufficient, the design feels like an afterthought—a soft-close lid would have added a more premium touch.
Medium,vented domes
These are silicon tips that go over the end of your receivers (speakers). I chose vented domes, because—while not appropriate for all hearing losses—this type of dome is more closed off (despite the name), and that helps the hearing aids do a better job of separating speech from noise, which is Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio’s main thing. Phonak’s fitting software has a new feature that helps determine the best domes for you —AI Dome Proposer— so your provider doesn’t have to guess which domes are the most appropriate.
CeruStop wax filters (the little black sticks shown above)
When it comes to the part of your hearing aid delivery appointment that your hearing provider teaches you how to use these— pay attention. These filters prevent wax from getting inside the receiver (speaker), which is the most common reason hearing aids quit working. If you use these correctly and routinely you will save yourself a lot of back-and-forth to your hearing provider’s office.
Brush & cleaning cloth
The cleaning cloth can be used to wipe down the body of the hearing aid—but really any cloth will do. The brush is helpful for getting wax off the dome, and there’s a little U-shaped wire on one end that helps you fish wax out of the dome before it goes into the wax filter.
User guide
A user guide was not included. If you want a paper user guide, you can request one from your hearing provider. To save paper, consider downloading the digital version instead. You can even upload it to an AI-powered tool like ChatPDF to help you quickly navigate and find the information you need. Look at you! Researching your next AI-powered hearing aids and using an AI chatbot to help you use them. I’m gonna be out of a job pretty soon here, aren’t I?
Carry case
I was a bit surprised that there was no kind of storage case included. If you want one, have your hearing provider order you one when you place your order— it’s called a Hardcase.
Prefer a video? Here’s my YouTube review after the launch event, but prior to wearing these—
How They Look And Feel
Dimensions (L x W x D): 32.2 mm x 9.3 mm x 13.9 mm
Weight: 3.40 grams
For some perspective, I compared the size of this hearing aid with the industry’s smallest comparable hearing aid that also uses DNN tech (Starkey Edge AI), and the Sphere model was 40% heavier, and 130% larger by volume.
Having said that, reports of the “massive” size of these hearing aids have been greatly exaggerated. Are they bigger than every competitor’s hearing aids? Yes. But considering the processing power of these hearing aids—*53x more powerful than current industry standards— the bigger size is a tradeoff I think many will be happy to make.
*According to Phonak. I couldn’t find a source for this.
If I’m being honest, the size might scare away a first-time wearer who is concerned about cosmetics. I think even Phonak would admit this, which is likely why they also make this model without the DNN tech (which makes it much smaller)—though 95% of our customers prefer the larger Sphere model as shown above.
I go back and forth between thinking they’re too big, and not caring. The first day of wearing them I thought “I know they are there, and I don’t know that I’m ever not going to know they are there.” But then a few hours would pass, and I’d hear an audible notification through my hearing aids, like when I got a text on my phone, and I’d be surprised by it, because I had evidently forgotten I was wearing the hearing aids.
If I had to summarize how I feel about the size, it’s this: If I was a first-time wearer, and I wasn’t “in the weeds” on this stuff like I am—and didn’t know that Sphere was the best in noise—then the size could very well be a dealbreaker for me. If I was an experienced wearer and I’d gotten over the sort of inclination that many people have to keep these hidden—and I just wanted the best hearing possible—the size would not bother me at all.
I guess my best advice on this would be—if you’re concerned about the size, have your hearing provider give you a demo of the Sphere, and then another (smaller set), so you can see what is really the most important to you.
Programming The Hearing Aids
I wirelessly programmed these hearing aids using Phonak’s latest fitting software, Target 10.0, which was released at the same time this new hearing aid was. The operating system—AutoSense OS 6.0—also got a nice update. The operating system is the brain of the hearing aid and is responsible for (among other things), controlling which program the hearing aid switches into in a given environment. Each program—and hearing aids have many, this hearing aid has 11— is like a specific mode for a specific acoustic environment.
These hearing aids—and all hearing aids—can be put in ‘automatic’, or ‘manual’ mode, or some combination of both. Manual mode means you’re switching into different programs whenever you please, using the onboard buttons on the hearing aid, or via the myPhonak app. Automatic mode means you’re keeping the hearing aids in the AutoSense OS program, and letting the hearing aids figure out when to change programs (automatically).
Automatic mode is definitely my preference. I figure—you’re shelling out all this cash for high end hearing aids, why not let them do what you’re paying them to do? In reality, Automatic mode doesn’t always get it right. So many people—myself included—end up using a combination of both automatic and manual mode. That means I prefer to let the hearing aids self-direct as much as possible, but I want the flexibility to override their settings when I think they get it wrong.
So while I wore them, I kept them in automatic mode—AutoSense OS—and created one additional manual program, Spheric Speech in Loud Noise, just so I could test that program and all the parameters as I pleased and quickly switch in and out of the program to test the difference it made.
I set up the rocker switch buttons on the hearing aid to control the volume of the devices, and I used the myPhonak app to change the programs—but there’s a lot of flexibility in how you set this up. I mostly liked the app, and I write about that a bit further down this page.
Sidebar—it’d been a while since I’d programmed a set of hearing aids, and I was blown away by all the settings and customizations available, and how important it is during setup to make sure they’re physically fitting just perfectly in the ear. It’s wild to me that there are companies out there that are selling these online, remotely programming them, and not providing in-person service. Folks—follow Phonak’s recommendation and make sure you have local care included when you buy these.
My Experience Using The Audéo Sphere Hearing Aids
I’ve just finished wearing these from sunrise to sunset, for 7 days. Most of the environments I wore them in were pretty calm, as you’ll see from my wear diary below.
As shown above, I don’t spend much time in noisy environments, maybe a dinner or drink out once a week. I have a pretty calm lifestyle, and spend the majority of my time in my home office.
I did “mix it up” a bit more socially over the last week—for science— so I could comment on what is undoubtedly the most important thing…
Hearing in Noise
I have minimal high-frequency hearing loss, but it doesn’t impact my day-to-day life. However, like many people—even those with perfect hearing—I struggle in noisy environments, such as restaurants. Throw in some background noise and a waiter with anything less than crystal clear enunciation and I feel like I’m listening to a different language entirely.
This hearing aid definitely does improve speech clarity in noisy places. Honestly I wouldn’t say speech clarity was quite as drastically improved as shown in this demo video from Phonak. But, I believe that demo was made with a totally occluded fitting, as in, the wearer was using custom ear molds, which I wasn't.
The program that kicks on when you’re in a restaurant or noisy place is Spheric Speech in Loud Noise, and that activates the DNN to separate speech from background noise. If you just let AutoSense OS switch you into that program and leave the program at the default settings, it works. But if you use the MyPhonak app and adjust some of the parameters for that program (shown below), it really works.
You can tinker around with the settings inside the MyPhonak app, but I found that a setting that might be ideal for one conversation, might not be ideal for another, so instead of fiddling with my phone the whole time—I just preferred to leave the default settings on and live with whatever the hearing aid decided to do, knowing that it was still better than my normal hearing anyway.
Be careful about your battery life while in the Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program
This program triples the battery drain of the hearing aid. For that reason, when you’re in the program, in the top corner of the screen, Phonak shows you a figure, like ‘~6 hrs’, that tells you how much longer your battery will last if you stay in this program.
If you’re using AutoSense OS, when you leave that noisy setting, the hearing aids will automatically switch out of the Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program, preserving your battery life. But if you manually activated Spheric Speech in Loud Noise yourself, like through the MyPhonak app or by using the push button on your hearing aid, the hearing aids will not leave that program automatically when you leave that noisy setting—you’ll have to remember to switch back to AutoSense. If you don’t, your battery is going to die much sooner than you would’ve expected.
In the future it might be helpful if the developers at Phonak give users a warning via the app, or an audible indicator through the hearing aid, to the effect of— “Hey, it looks like you’re no longer in a noisy environment, we recommend switching out of the Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program to preserve battery life.”
The bottom line is this—
Spheric Speech in Loud Noise works well, and the hype is real.
If it worked well for me, with only a very mild high frequency hearing loss, I bet it works very well for you. I feel like I’m about 15 years away from not going to restaurants without hearing aids, and I feel pretty confident in making the prediction that—when the time comes that I really need help in these environments—hearing aid manufacturers are going to have this problem completely sorted out, in smaller-than-ever hearing aids.
General Observations On Sound Quality
These are the quietest hearing aids I've ever listened to—in a good way. There is zero machine or circuit noise that I could hear, and there was zero echo in my own voice. These are problems that I notice with every other hearing aid I've tried. The Sphere hearing aids were so quiet, so natural, that I had to double and triple check the settings to make sure I hadn't programmed them wrong.
I called Phonak to get an explanation as to why these aids were so much better in these two categories as compared to competitors, and a Phonak audiologist confirmed that these improvements are specifically attributed to the new ERA chip (which is one of the two chips that Phonak uses in Sphere hearing aids).
It's hard to explain how I felt about them. More than any hearing aid I've worn, they just seemed to somehow only add what I was missing, which is something I'd never experienced from a hearing aid before. By the end of my first day wearing these, I made this comment to my wife—
“In my twenties, when I was new to the hearing aid world, I wore hearing aids very frequently—any time a new one came out. They always sounded tinny and sharp to me, and like they were amplifying everything. For the first time, the only thing I’m noticing is that I'm hearing better—better than I should be.”
We had a good laugh at that. I’m not sure if that was my perception because I’m now closer to 40 than I am 19, or because the technology has just gotten that much better. It’s probably a combination of both.
They do a really good job prioritizing speech
…sometimes too good.
October is baseball month in my house, and that means a lot of TV. One annoying thing I found is when I’d be watching the game and there were people talking in the kitchen, about 10 feet from the TV, the hearing aids would always prioritize their speech over the TV.
Using the MyPhonak app to switch into the “TV” program seemed to help a bit, but that’s not a good long term solution. I could’ve also used Phonak’s TV streamer accessory, though I don’t think that’s a good solution in my case—I want less gadgets.
I did a lot of testing here, turning the aids on and off while watching TV, to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind and that indeed the conversations in the kitchen were being amplified more than the TV.
Anytime I’d turn the aids off and focus on the TV, it was amazing to me how well my brain could drown out what I didn’t want to hear and focus on the TV, but as soon as the aids went back on, I could no longer focus on the TV.
And I think that’s what’s so special about all this DNN tech in hearing aids—it’s all designed to mimic the way the brain processes sound, because there’s just nothing better at that than the brain. Sure, the DNN wasn’t able to capture my intent in this case—to hear the TV—but we’re in the very early days of this stuff.
I felt like a spy
One night I was reading a book in our master bedroom, a good 50 feet from the kitchen, and could hear enough of the words to somewhat follow along in the conversation going on in the kitchen. Muting the hearing aids, I had no chance of deciphering any of the words. I’d often find myself hearing sounds that felt like they were right in my hearing aids, and they were pretty far away. I’m honestly not sure if that’s just the hearing aids “being extra,” or if I truly wasn’t hearing those sounds beforehand, and should’ve been.
Some things don’t sound natural
Speech always sounds very good. Crisp, clear, sharp. I do notice a bit of an echo (though less than competitor products), but that’s because my hearing is still very good—many users wouldn't notice this, or would quickly get used to it. If you think about the general noises you hear around the house- floor boards creaking, appliances dinging, doors closing—it all just sounded a bit off. Chime sounds from cars and devices would have sort of a warble/fluttering effect. Not a big complaint, just an observation.
Battery Life
I wore the hearing aids everyday from about 7am to 8pm. I probably did about 1.5 hours of Bluetooth streaming a day (Pandora mostly). I also manually switched the hearing aids into the Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program once a day for about an hour.
I used them—intentionally so—a bit “harder” than I think most users will. I don’t think many people will stream as much as I did, and I don’t think many people will have them in Spheric Speech in Loud Noise for an hour daily.
At the end of each day I checked my battery life in the myPhonak app, and it never dipped below 50%. Lithium-ion batteries do degrade over time though, so maybe by year 3 or 4 that number will be decreased, but even still, there’s enough “headroom” that I don’t think battery life would ever be a concern for me.
Bluetooth Features & Functionality
In every way possible, the Bluetooth on these hearing aids is better than the previous generation Audéo Lumity model and everything else on the market. The Spheres use Bluetooth 5.3, making them more energy efficient, with less latency, and a longer range. For context, I use an iPhone 13 Pro Max running iOS 17.6.1. Most phones are compatible with these hearing aids, but you can view Phonak’s compatibility list to be sure.
Bluetooth Pairing
Pairing was pretty easy, though it’s not as straightforward as pairing other Bluetooth devices. What’s unusual, is you have to actually do (2) different pairings to get these fully hooked up to your phone. Once you install the MyPhonak app, the app will guide you on how to pair the hearing aids to the app, and you can then use the app to control the hearing aids.
But if you want to stream from the hearing aids, you’ll have to do another pairing. On the iPhone, you do this by going into Settings -> Accessibility -> Touch -> Call Audio Routing -> put a checkmark next to ‘Bluetooth headset’.
Then go back to Bluetooth, and you’ll see a single new device listed that you can connect to, it’ll say something like “Left Phonak Hearing Aid”, or “LE Phonak hearing aid”. Pair to that. You’ll only actually pair to one of the hearing aids and that hearing aid will then share the audio stream with the other aid. Consequently, whichever aid you are paired to in your phone will drain the battery a bit faster than the other, so when you see uneven battery life between the right and left hearing aids, don’t be worried.
Bluetooth Range
Not an issue, and it was a big issue in the past, and still is with many other hearing aids. As long as you keep your phone within 50’ of you when you’re streaming from it, you’re going to have a solid connection.
Switching Between Devices
Switching the stream back and forth from my iPad and iPhone was quick and simple. I’d simply press ‘play’ on whichever device I wanted to stream from, and the hearing aids would transfer over to that device immediately. That simple switching process sounds like a basic feat for any modern hearing aid—and it should be— but so far Phonak is the only brand that has figured it out.
Streaming Sound Quality
The sound quality—like all Bluetooth hearing aids—is nothing to write home about. You’re not going to get a richness and balance of sound that you’ll get from headphones like AirPods or Galaxy Buds. Not even close. So for music, they’re not ideal. But for more informational type content where I don’t really care about sound quality—like podcasts or YouTube videos—I had no qualms using them on my nightly walk.
Hands-Free Calling
It works, but again, nothing to write home about. When your phone rings you’ll hear it in both ears, and depending on how you’ve set up the hearing aids, you can then do a double tap over your ear to accept the call, and a double tap again to end the call.
Sound quality is fine, but it’s not great for the other person. Whoever you’re talking to may comment that it sounds like you have them on speakerphone, because you basically do. Your voice is being picked up and sent to them via the microphones on your hearing aid, which are behind your ear, and not as close to your mouth as your phone's microphone would be.
But it’s fine, it works, I just probably wouldn’t use this feature if I was outside, or in a noisy place, it’s just not going to work well for the other person.
The MyPhonak App
I went into this with low expectations, because hearing aid apps are usually pretty underwhelming. The majority of hearing aid apps have between 2-3 stars in the App and Play store. This app has 4.4 stars, and I feel that’s justified.
The UX is slick. I’m a fan of the attention to detail that just makes using the app feel like an elegant experience. There’s a ton of customization that you can do within the app, frankly it was overwhelming to me and I didn’t want to mess with most of it, but I can definitely think of a handful of people in my life who would love that.
I do have a few issues with the app. First, I felt like 5% of the time I opened it up, there was some kind of notification saying that I’d lost connection to my hearing aids, when I hadn’t, and everything was still working fine.
Second, the times when that notification was correct and the aids had lost connection to the app, it was impossible to get that connection back. I'd shut down the aids, turn off the Bluetooth on my phone, and the aids still wouldn't connect to the app. This wasn't a big deal for me, but if I had been in a noisy place for hours with the hearing aids in the Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program (which drains the battery quickly), that would've made me nervous, as I wouldn't have been able to check the battery life on the hearing aids.
Tap Control
Works 100% of the time, 50% of the time.
It works similar to how the double-tap feature does on AirPods. You just double tap around the hearing aid to do things like answer phone calls, or start/stop bluetooth streaming—depending on how your hearing provider has set this feature up.
It can certainly be oversensitive—I triggered it one time just putting on a shirt, and another time, a hat. And then at times it can be under sensitive.
I found the best way to get it to work reliably was to make an airtight cup with my hand, as if I was going to hold some water or something in my hand—and then firmly double tap over my entire ear and hearing aid. This gesture invoked a chuckle from my wife every, single, time.
I think if I were to use these long term, I'd probably just set up the buttons on the hearing aid to do that instead.
Would I actually use Bluetooth streaming features or the MyPhonak app?
No, I don’t think so. I think I’d put the hearing aids on in the morning, take them off at night, and that would be all the interaction with them I would want. I’d just want better hearing. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any more apps, and I don’t want any new electronic devices that I have to try and decipher where they fit into my life’s electronic ecosystem.
I recently purchased a new mattress and there were alot of mattresses to choose from that had tech in them. No thanks. I feel the same way about hearing aids as I do mattresses—there’s just some parts of my life that I want unscathed by tech that I have to engage with in any way.
To be fair, there were some things I liked about the Bluetooth streaming and the app
I liked scrolling social media at night and having the audio directly in my hearing aids.
I liked—at any time—being able to turn on Pandora or Youtube and stream some content. I would do this often when doing things like cooking and household chores. At the same time, it’s then annoying if someone wants to talk to you and you have to first tell them you’re streaming music, pause the music, and then ask them to repeat themselves—only for them to say “nevermind, not important.” If you have hearing loss, I’m guessing you’ve had enough of that.
But there were more things that I didn’t like
I didn’t like that if I was falling asleep on the couch, I could be woken up by any notification on my phone (because it dings through the hearing aids). Sure, I could’ve put those notifications on silent on my phone, but that’s just one more thing I have to remember to do.
I didn’t like that I felt like I was always “tied” to my phone. When I leave my phone in another room, I’ve made the conscious decision that I don’t want to be bothered by it. If my hearing aids are paired up to it, that’s not possible. It’s the same reason I won’t buy an Apple Watch—I just don’t want to be that locked in to my tech.
A happy middle ground
If I were to use these long term, I’d probably keep the MyPhonak app on my phone, but wouldn’t actually pair the phone for Bluetooth streaming.That way I could use features like the “Find my hearing aid” feature if I lost the hearing aids, or use the app to check my battery life.
Having said that, I can think of a ton of our customers who absolutely love playing with their new hearing aids and figuring out the ins and outs of the app. I also know that for a ton of people with more hearing loss than I have, streaming phone calls is their preferred way to have a phone call—as nothing matches the clarity of hearing the caller through both hearing aids.
The good news is, the hearing aids can be set up by your hearing provider so you can have whatever level of engagement you want with the devices.
Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio Pros and Cons
Pros
Clear speech in noise: The hype is real. Wearing these feels a bit like having a 360-degree noise cancellation bubble around your head. If you’re someone that has to strategically position yourself to hear someone in noise—I’m not going to lie—you should still probably do that, but you’ll be doing it less.
They're quiet: As compared to their biggest rivals right now, Starkey Edge AI, and Oticon Intent, Sphere had the least amount of white noise or circuit noise. In a quiet room, I couldn't hear any white noise through the aids at all, which is rare, and very good. I also didn't notice any echo in my own voice, which is something I notice with all other hearing aids I wear.
They’re totally customizable: Between the flexibility and customization of the programming software and the app, I felt like many of my complaints could be resolved through tweaking various settings.
They’re just really, really cool: You have a deep neural network working on your ears. We are living in the future. And there’s just something cool about wearing what is objectively—according to HearAdvisor—the best at hearing in noise. Are they perfect? No. But it should give you peace of mind that no matter what complaints you have with them, you are wearing state-of-the-art tech.
Cons
They’re big: They’re bigger than all competitor devices, but at the same time Phonak says that’s what makes them more powerful than competitor devices. If you’re very concerned about cosmetics this may be a dealbreaker for you. If you’ve worn hearing aids before and you just want the best hearing possible, I don’t think you’ll care.
Poor battery life in noisy environments: When you’re in a real noisy environment and the Spheric Speech in Loud Noise program kicks on, battery drain effectively triples. That means if you’re headed to a noisy environment, you need to be aware of your battery life before you enter the environment to be sure the hearing aids won’t quit on you.
No disposable battery version: I know, the whole industry is moving away from disposable batteries in favor of rechargeable. But for me, disposable batteries are just easier. I’d much prefer to remember to put a battery in once a week, as opposed to always trying to remember to charge my hearing aids or thinking about what my battery life is if I’m entering a noisy environment. It’s just one more thing to have to remember.
They’re expensive: All the best hearing aids are. I do expect this technology to “trickle down” to more affordable price points in the coming years. The Tesla Roadster had to come before the Model 3. And that mattress I bought? Quality of life improved 100% and I haven’t missed the money since. These hearing aids will do the same thing.
I’ll Let Myself Have The Last Word
Phonak isn’t the first manufacturer to use deep neural networks in their hearing aids. Starkey was the first in 2020, followed by Oticon in 2021. But it doesn’t matter who’s first.
In 2014, Phonak competitor ReSound launched the world’s first Made for iPhone Bluetooth hearing aid. Within 2 years, every major manufacturer had introduced their own Made for iPhone hearing aid—except for Phonak.
It wasn’t until late 2017 that Phonak finally introduced their own Bluetooth-compatible hearing aid. So what took them so long? Phonak made a strategic decision to use the Bluetooth Classic protocol in their hearing aids, as opposed to the easier-to-implement Made for iPhone (MFi) protocol that other manufacturers used.
This decision meant that when Phonak did release their Bluetooth-compatible hearing aids, they were compatible with all phones—not just iPhones. As a result, Phonak is still widely considered—7 years later— to be the industry leader in Bluetooth hearing aids.
Phonak has been aware of the potential of DNNs for years but waited until they were confident that hardware—specifically the DEEPSONIC chip—could handle the computational demand necessary for their deep neural network to truly shine.
This thoughtful approach mirrors their earlier decision to prioritize universal Bluetooth compatibility over speed to market with iPhone-exclusive solutions.
At the Google I/O developer conference in May 2018, Google CEO Sundar Pichai made a prescient remark—
“AI is one of the most important things humanity is working on. It is more profound than electricity or fire. We are going to have to figure out how to have AI be a part of every product in every industry.”
The hearing aid industry is now living this reality.
Phonak has figured out how to meaningfully integrate AI into their products—now let’s see if once again their strategic patience proves to be the winning approach.