Sonova Investor & Analyst Day 2018: Focus on Strategic Agenda and Latest Innovations

Stäfa (Switzerland), October 19, 2018 – Sonova Holding AG, the world’s leading provider of hearing solutions, today holds its annual Investor & Analyst Day. Senior management will provide an overview of the strategic agenda and on the group’s latest pioneering technologies aimed at allowing those affected by hearing loss to live their lives without limitations. A highlight will be the new Phonak Marvel platform which provides excellent sound quality from the first fit and brings rechargeable solutions and direct connectivity to the next level. The complete range of new products of the Sonova brands Phonak, Unitron, Hansaton and Advanced Bionics will be on display at the EUHA congress starting October 17 in Hanover, Germany.

With over 100 attendees expected at Sonova headquarters in Stäfa, the annual Investor & Analyst Day has proven to be a key event in their calendar. “This year’s Investor & Analyst Day will provide a comprehensive strategy update and an in-depth look into our retail business,“ says Arnd Kaldowski, CEO of Sonova. “In addition, we look very much forward to unveiling our groundbreaking Phonak Marvel platform that sets new standards in sound quality, rechargeable technology, connectivity and smart apps in hearing aids. With Marvel, we keep pushing the limits of technology and can deliver on the promises made when we introduced the SWORD™ chip as a core of our future innovations.”

The presentation of the new Phonak Marvel platform will be a key agenda item during the Investor & Analyst Day. Together with the broad range of new products across all of Sonova’s brands, it will subsequently be showcased at the EUHA congress starting on October 17. Among the highlights are:

Phonak – Introducing Marvel: The ultimate combination of sound quality and universal Bluetooth® connectivity

The new Marvel platform has been developed with a focus on what users expect most from a hearing aid – a clear, rich sound experience¹. This world's first hearing technology to fully support binaural direct streaming of music, phone, live/on-demand video and more from billions of Bluetooth enabled devices, enables hearing aid wearers to stream all audio content seamlessly from any iPhone® or Android™ device to both ears in full stereo. Marvel hearing aids are rechargeable and work with dedicated apps that allow wearers to experience remote hearing aid adjustments as well as real-time voice-to-text call transcription.

With Marvel technology, AutoSense OS 3.0 can even classify streamed media. In a recent study, Audéo M was top-rated for quality of streaming media against five competitors. The enhanced operating system also includes Binaural VoiceStream Technology™ into Marvel hearing aids. This highly-sophisticated directional microphone technology has been proven to significantly improve speech understanding by 60%³ in noisy places like restaurants while simultaneously reducing the amount of effort 19%⁴ required to listen and understand.

Phonak Audéo Marvel is the only hearing aid that directly connects to any iPhone or Android Smartphone* and streams audio content to both ears in stereo quality. Hands-free calls with improved own voice pick-up further simplify the life of hearing aid users. The new TV Connector, a plug and play solution that automatically connects with the TV if within range, turns the hearing aids into wireless headphones. RogerDirectTM, available from autumn 2019, streams the Roger signal directly to Marvel hearing aids without the need of an external receiver, allowing for a 33% smaller and 66% lighter hearing aid housing compared to the previous Roger solution.

Phonak Audéo Marvel also features the second generation of the proprietary Lithium-Ion rechargeable technology that powers a full day of hearing including streaming, quick charging and more ease of use as the hearing aids automatically switch on when removed from the charger.

With Marvel hearing aids comes the introduction of a suite of convenient Smart Apps. The MyPhonak app allows wearers to have their hearing aids adjusted virtually in real-time, in any situation, anywhere by the hearing care professional. It also gives consumers the ability to rate their hearing aid satisfaction in various environments and directly send this feedback to their hearing care professional. Finally, the myCall-to-Text app provides live transcription of phone calls from the other party in more than 80 languages. This is an ideal solution for noisy environments, or for people who need additional visual captions when using the phone.

Unitron – A truly personalized experience for Super Power users

Leveraging the powerful TempusTM platform, the new MaxTM hearing aid comes with three Super Power pre-sets in two Behind The Ear (BTE) form factors. Each pre-set features a different combination of sound processing, directionality and gain. For 86%⁵ of hearing care professionals surveyed, Super Power pre-sets will add value to Super Power fittings where a one-size-fits-all approach does not work. And with this latest addition to the FLEXTM ecosystem, Super Power patients gain the confidence and personalization they crave throughout their entire journey. Max makes it easier to meet the expectations of hearing aid users with severe-to-profound- hearing loss, translating into fewer and shorter follow-up appointments. A rechargeable option for Max will follow in early 2019.

Hansaton – New power to the SHD technology portfolio

With the launch of beat SHD, Hansaton introduces two new BTE models for people with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Based on the powerful SHD technology, the beat SHD RS13 and beat SHD RS675 hearing systems also feature the proven HearIntelligenceTM technology to support a more natural hearing experience thanks to precise speech processing, localization and optimization features. Hearing care professionals can choose between three different “power” pre-sets – classic, active and modern – when fitting the new beat SHD models, enhancing the fitting process and allowing for an improved first fit experience

Advanced Bionics – Hassle and pain free MRI cochlear implant technology

In August, Advanced Bionics has announced the FDA Approval of the HiResTM Ultra 3D cochlear implant. Built on the HiRes Ultra platform, the implant features a new magnet technology that is compatible with MRI examinations. The new magnet design provides alignment with an external magnetic field in any direction, thus allowing cochlear implant recipients to move freely around in the strong magnetic field of an MRI machine without feeling pain or discomfort. There is no more need to undergo outpatient surgery to remove the magnet for high-resolution MRI examinations, making the screenings hassle and pain free for patients.

The slides of the Investor & Analyst Day presentations are available from October 16, 2018 09.00 am CEST on the Sonova website.

To access the presentations, please visit https://www.sonova.com/en/investors/presentations.

The names of third-party products used in this presentation are trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.

*with Bluetooth® 4.2 wireless technology and most older Bluetooth phones

¹   Jansen, S. & Woodward, J. (2018). Love at first sound: the new Phonak precalculation. Phonak Insight, retrieved from www.phonakpro.com/evidence, accessed October 17th, 2018.

²   Legarth, S., Latzel, M. & Rodrigues, T. (2018). Media streaming: The sound quality wearers prefer, Phonak Field Study News, retrieved from www.phonakpro.com/evidence, accessed October 17th, 2018.

³   Field Study News about Phonak StereoZoom in preparation, available by end of 2018 at www.phonakpro.com/evidence

⁴   Winneke, A., Latzel, M. & Appleton-Huber (2018). Less listening- and memory effort in noisy situations with StereoZoom, Phonak Field Study News, retrieved from www.phonakpro.com/evidence, accessed October 17th, 2018.

⁵   Unitron Galaxy Max Super Power Study and Sample Overview (2018)