Starkey's Omega AI+ launches with Auracast built in from day one

Starkey launched Omega AI+ on 1 October, a year after the original Omega AI. It is the company's new flagship, and the first Starkey family to ship with Auracast working out of the box rather than switched on later by firmware.

What is new

The headline change is the processor. Omega AI+ runs on Starkey's G4 Gen AI Neuro Processor, which the company says processes sound up to 2.7 times faster than the slowest leading competitor it tested. On it sit four deep neural networks working together, plus what Starkey calls the world's first "DNN Dual Compressor", which decides when to favour speech clarity and when to keep sound natural.

The rest of the list is incremental but useful:

• Edge Mode can now switch on automatically when the aids power up. HearingTracker notes that always-on Edge Mode is limited to the top Premium 24 level.
• DNN 360 extends to rechargeable custom ITC and ITE styles.
• Redesigned feedback management, which Starkey says gives more gain before feedback in its own tests.
• Sleep tracking (US only) and a "Hearing Aids Left Behind" alert in the My Starkey app.

HearingTracker says Omega AI+ has no published HearAdvisor SoundGrade yet, and that the original Omega AI's scores should not be carried over.

Battery

Starkey says the extra processing costs nothing in battery life compared with Omega AI. Its figure of up to 51 hours per charge is for the RIC RT without streaming. HearingTracker lists 45 hours for the same model with streaming, and about 42 hours for the mRIC and custom rechargeables. Real runtime depends on style, streaming, settings and battery age.

Auracast, and how you join

Auracast is supported on the wireless models. Starkey pitches it for airports, theatres, places of worship and conference venues, as well as TVs. Broadcasts are joined through the Auracast assistant in the My Starkey app on iPhone or Android: the app tunes into the broadcast and streams it to the aids, and from there you can start and stop it, change the stream or microphone volume, and pick another language where one is offered. Neither Starkey nor the trade press says anything about joining from your phone's own Bluetooth settings. Our step-by-step guide covers the app route alongside every other platform.

The non-wireless (NW) custom styles have no Bluetooth, so no Auracast.

Styles and price

HearingTracker lists nine styles: mRIC R, RIC RT, RIC 312, CIC, ITC R, ITE R, and three non-wireless customs, IIC NW, CIC NW and CIC R NW. The IIC NW comes only at level 24.

As ever with Starkey, you buy through a clinic. HearingTracker lists US pairs from $3,198 at the Standard 16 level, $3,798 at Advanced 20 and $3,998 at Premium 24, while also saying it has no firm pricing data. Treat those as a guide.

How it fits

Starkey's earlier aids got Auracast the slow way. Edge AI (2024) and Omega AI (2025) were enabled in January 2026, when Starkey added the Auracast assistant to the My Starkey app, alongside Google Fast Pair and Push to Talk for Omega AI. Both work now. The StarLink Edge TV Streamer covers the TV at home.

The difference with Omega AI+ is that nobody has to wait. Compare it with the rest of the field in our hearing aids list.