Samsung makes a lot of electronic products from mobile devices to home entertainment systems and then some home appliances as well. Now, it has become clear that the company is working on a “hearable” device called Earcle. This is not the first time we’ve heard about such device, as last December, a hearing aid device with model number SM-R790 was spotted at the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and it was believed that it was associated with the trademarked name Earcle. Now, there are a few more details as some FCC documents describe the functionality of the ‘Earcle’.
According to the document, “The Earcle is a personal sound amplification product (PSAP) to help you hear better. The Earcle amplifies the sound you hear and can also be used as a Bluetooth headphone”. In the same page, it can also be read “The Earcle is intended to supplement what you hear by amplifying ambient sound and does not compensate for hearing loss or hearing difficulty”. So while it was first believed that it would be a hearing aid, this device would be a non-prescription hearing device and once it gets connected to a Galaxy smartphone using a Bluetooth connection, it will be able to provide access to some smartphone functionality like answering calls or playing music. This description sounds more in line with what other companies have introduced into the “hearable” market. For example, Motorola’s Hint offers voice commands to control some aspects of the smartphone and the Bragi’s Dash headphones offer similar functionality with stereo sound. Some other companies like Google, Microsoft and Apple are said to be working on their own “hearable” solutions as well.
The Earcle seems to be composed of two independent earpieces which connect to receivers meant to be placed behind the ears. The schematics also show the placement of the microphones and the control button, which can be used to improve the audio in different scenarios, such as restaurants, outdoors, meeting rooms and concerts. There’s also an automatic mode that changes based on the noise levels of the surroundings. The box also includes a small brush to clean the earpiece and it is used as a tool to replace its battery, as well. The FCC document was submitted in October 2015 along with a document for a hearing aid, but it is unknown if the devices are still under development, so it is possible that a few things could change by launch.
