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Google Joins Forces With GN Hearing, Gains Competitive Edge

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Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) division Google has recently partnered with Denmark-based GN Hearing, a developer of intelligent audio solutions, to create a streaming support for hearing aid users.

This support will allow hearing aid users to enjoy audio streaming from their android smartphones without using any extra headset or earphones. The audio will be played via their hearing aid devices.

Google has already rolled out the specification for the recent support for Android sets called Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (“ASHA”). It is based on Bluetooth Low Energy and connection-oriented channels, which will ensure steady flow of audio.

Per GN Hearing, ReSound LiNX Quattro and Beltone Amaze will be the first hearing aids to feature this audio streaming support. Further, the specification will also help other manufacturers to develop audio streaming supported hearing aids.

The latest move of the company will expand its services and technology portfolio.

Coming to the price performance, shares of Alphabet have returned 15.4% on a year-to-date basis against the industry’s decline of 6.4%.



Market for Hearing Aids Holds Promise

By joining forces with GN Hearing and with the launch of ASHA, Google has forayed into the growing market for hearing aid devices.

With the growing number of people with hearing disabilities, the demand for hearing aid devices will continue to go up. Currently, there are 466 million people with hearing disabilities and the number is projected to hit 900 million by 2050, per the data from World Health Organization.

According to report from MarketsandMarkets, the global market for hearing aid devices is expected to reach $9.78 billion by 2022 by growing at a CAGR of 7% between 2017 and 2022.

We believe Google is well poised to take the advantage of this rapidly growing market with the help of its robust technologies, growing penetration of android users and rising demand for audio streaming.

Strengthening Competition

By rolling out the android audio streaming support for the hearing aid users, Google will be strengthening its competitive position against the iPhone maker, Apple (AAPL - Free Report) .

In 2014, Apple had teamed up with GN Hearing and unveiled hearing aid support for iPhone users. This helped the users to make Facetime call and listen to audio.

Per the data quoted by Forbes, over the past two years Android’s loyalty rate ranges between 89-91% which is higher than that of iOS which ranges between 85% and 88%.

Consequently, Google’s entry in the hearing aid technology space with the same or even more advanced features is likely to aid android adoption rate. This will help the company in gaining momentum in the market further.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks that can be considered in the broader technology sector are Match Group (MTCH - Free Report) and Angie’s List (ANGI - Free Report) . Both the stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth rate for Match Group and Angie’s List is currently pegged at 12.5%, and 25%, respectively.

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