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Apple Complains About FCC's Hearing Aid Push

Jan 29, 2016, 5:09 PM by Eric M. Zeman

Apple has filed comments with the FCC requesting the agency refrain from adopting new hearing aid rules. In November, the agency issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would require all phones to be accessible to people who use hearing aids or have cochlear implants. Right now, phone makers only have to make a small selection of their handsets accessible to hearing-impaired persons. The FCC wants to see such people offered the same range of devices that are available to all consumers. Apple complies with current rules with its own hearing aid platform called Made for iPhone (MFi), but believes the FCC's new proposal goes too far. "The FCC has not in the past, and should not now, require that manufacturers ubiquitously implement coupling technologies that can function with every hearing aid," argued Apple. "To do so would undermine companies' ability to attract consumers with hearing loss by differentiating their products in the marketplace, and would severely constrain innovation." Further, Apple believes its Made for iPhone program should be more than adequate for its handsets. "Recognizing approaches such as the MFi hearing aid platform as compliant under the FCC's HAC rules will accelerate adoption, increase scale, and reduce cost of new technologies that can improve accessibility compared with today's HAC-compliant technologies." MFi supports voice calls, FaceTime, Siri, navigation, and multimedia. The FCC is still accepting comments on its proposal and has not said if or when any regulations might go into effect.

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Comments

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This forum is closed.

SkyeWint

Jan 30, 2016, 1:47 PM
edited

To paraphrase...

FCC: "Let's make it possible for people with hearing problems to have the same phones as people without these problems. You know, equality of opportunity."

Apple: "How dare you require us to make our products properly available to everyone. We want to only have our specific types of (likely overpriced) hearing aid which locks people into our ecosystem or massively inconveniences them."

I mean come on. I'm sure they'd complain just as bitterly if they were required to have compatible chargers or other accessory connectors, that are part of a standard that the rest of the world has moved to - after all, that would make it easier for people to swap phones out and not get stuck in their locked-down ecosystem.

Apple, grow up and realize ...
(continues)

Brad K

I'm sure your the same consumer who will complain when prices go up because the phone you want is required to have all sorts of features that you and the vast, vast majority of the population don't need/wont use.

I supposed we should also crack dow...
(continues)

...

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