What's New - OndaHear

Version 2.2

Version 2.2.6 — August 2026

A freeze when starting a session is fixed. Tapping Start twice in quick succession could lock the app up. It no longer can.
The microphone guide now speaks your language. The guide to external microphones in Help is available in all 19 languages OndaHear supports.
Steadier audio when your devices change. Moving between Bluetooth earbuds and an external microphone during a session is more reliable.
The language list is easier to read. Some language names appeared as dark text on a dark background.
Upgrade options no longer appear while another screen is closing.

Version 2.2.5 — August 2026

A new app icon. OndaHear has a fresh look on your home screen, and it stays legible at the smallest sizes.
The biggest upgrade for captions is a better microphone. A new guide in Help shows which external microphones work well with OndaHear and where to place them. If your microphone is running weak during a session, the app now quietly lets you know.
No more upgrade screen at launch. Upgrade options now appear only when you use a premium feature, so the app opens straight into listening.
Clearer daily timer. The remaining-minutes badge now looks like the button it always was, so it is obvious you can tap it.
Reliability and bug fixes.

Version 2.2.4 — July 2026

Clearer sound and steadier captions with Bluetooth earbuds. Connecting Bluetooth earbuds used to force your iPhone into a low-quality microphone mode, which made captions patchy. OndaHear now keeps the microphone at full quality while sending audio to your earbuds.
New: captions on AR glasses. Connect wired display glasses such as RayNeo or Xreal over USB-C and read live captions in your field of view while you look at the person speaking.
Steadier live captions. Words settle sooner and rewrite themselves less while you listen.
Fixed rare crashes and freezes that could happen when a Bluetooth device connected or disconnected during a session.
The app language can no longer be changed in the middle of an active session, which fixes a crash.
Reliability and bug fixes.

Version 2.2.3 — July 2026

A friendlier first run. New users now get a shorter setup and a quick hands-on demo of what OndaHear can do before they start.
See how it works, anytime. The in-app tutorial now opens the full walkthrough of every mode, and you can replay it from Help whenever you like.
Reliability and bug fixes.

Version 2.2.2 — July 2026

Live captions on Apple Watch. Turn captions on from your wrist and read them full-screen, with scrollback for anything you missed.
More reliable live captions. If speech recognition briefly stalls, captions now recover on their own instead of stopping.
Fixed a rare freeze that could happen when connecting a microphone during an active session.
Simpler stereo control. The stereo slider is now a clear Left / Right balance control.
Reliability and bug fixes.

Version 2.2.1 — June 2026

Clearer sound. We fixed an issue that could make amplified audio distort at higher volumes in Listen mode — listening is noticeably cleaner now, including with strong external and wireless microphones.
New — Ear Boost. Give your weaker ear a little extra without turning up the other, in Listen mode with stereo earbuds connected.
Smoother hearing test. Your results now stay on screen after you save, so you can still export them as a PDF.
Reset All Settings. A new option in Settings returns every advanced audio control to its defaults, while your saved presets and hearing profiles stay put.
When a language’s on-device speech model isn’t installed yet, Listen and Text Chat now offer a friendly one-tap download instead of failing silently.
Reliability and bug fixes.

Version 2.2.0 — June 2026

Now optimized for iPad. Listen, Live Captions, Conversation, and Live Translation all run natively on iPad — fully on-device, with the same privacy as on iPhone.
Faster, cleaner Live Translation on iPad. Translations now stream as you speak, and a fix stops an earlier phrase from repeating after you switch speaking directions.
Text Chat fixed on iPad. Push-to-talk messages are now captured and sent reliably.
When a language isn’t available for on-device captions on iPad, the app now tells you clearly instead of failing silently, and unsupported languages are hidden from the picker.
Simpler saving. You’re now asked to save your transcript just once — when you close a mode — so you’ll never get a duplicate save prompt.
View your transcript anytime. The in-session transcript viewer is now read-only, so you can read your captions without interrupting the session or being asked to save.
Fixed a repeating vibration when starting the Listen mode guided tour with earbuds or an external microphone connected.
Reliability and polish improvements across the app.

Version 2.1

Version 2.1.0 — June 2026

Clearer free trial. The 14-day free trial is now shown honestly — free for 14 days, then your chosen plan's price. We removed the confusing “discount” wording that could make a plan look permanently free.
Daily free-minute timers now show in every mode. Text Chat and Live Translation now display how many free minutes you have left for the day, right in the view — matching Listen mode.
Live Translation now defaults to English → Spanish and remembers both your spoken and translated language choices between sessions.
Fixed repeated vibration during the Listen mode guided tour for users who had Speech Haptics turned on.
Fixed an error banner that could linger after switching the app’s language.
Audio warning messages (feedback and built-in-mic notices) now appear in your selected language.
Reliability and polish improvements across the app.

Version 2.0

Build 93 — May 28, 2026

Conversation Mode: corrected fix for the Bluetooth-earbud audio issue where one phone heard both sides while the other was silent. The output volume sent to the system's echo canceller is no longer over-boosted, giving hardware echo cancellation a clean reference signal and restoring audio on the phone that was silent.
First-Session Tour: the external-mic and earbud checks now happen after you tap Begin Tour rather than blocking the welcome card upfront. Both warnings have a red X to bail out, and Apple's wired EarPods are now recognized as a valid headphone+mic combo (the tour no longer asks you to remove them).
First-Session Tour: earbud connection is now detected within half a second when you plug them in, instead of waiting up to several seconds for iOS to notify the app.
Settings: new “Replay Listen Mode Tour” toggle under General — turn it on to see the guided walkthrough again next time you start Listen mode.
Live Translation on iPad: fixed an 8-second freeze when starting recording. The recognition session is now given enough time to come up on iPad's slower audio hardware.
Live Translation: fixed a false-positive “External Audio Detected” warning that appeared even when no external device was connected.
Live Captions: added a self-help banner that appears if Apple's speech recognizer stops producing text (a known iPadOS issue on some devices). The banner shows the exact workaround: Settings → General → Keyboard → Dictation → toggle off and on.
Live Captions: fixed a rare race where captions could stop working mid-session if the speech recognition session ended right after starting. The system now schedules a recovery instead of silently dropping.
Hearing Test: PDF export now opens correctly on the first tap (was sometimes showing a blank sheet). The audiogram chart was resized so the medical disclaimer no longer overlaps the detailed results table on the page.

Build 92 — May 23, 2026

Conversation Mode: first attempt at fixing the Bluetooth-earbud echo loop (peer voice repeated back as “double talking” captions). Superseded by the corrected fix in Build 93.
Report a Problem: moved from Settings to the Help screen, alongside Visit Support and Email Support — easier to find when you actually need to send a diagnostic log.

Build 91 — May 23, 2026

First-Session Tour: now detects when an external microphone (USB, Lark, headset) is connected and prompts you to unplug it so the demo can use your device's built-in mic. The prompt closes itself the moment the mic is removed.
iPad: Live Captions during the first-time tour now appear reliably — fixed a timing race where the caption wire-up could miss the audio engine starting.

Build 90 — May 21, 2026

Conversation Mode: audio now plays through your connected earbuds (was sometimes routing to the iPhone speaker). The earbud-required prompt's Cancel button now properly returns you to the mode picker.
Live Captions: fixed cases where captions stayed silent on iPad or during the first-time tour — captions now wire up reliably regardless of how they're toggled.

Build 89 — May 21, 2026

Conversation Mode: improved audio reliability and echo cancellation between paired devices.

Build 88 — May 20, 2026

Listen mode: a guided tour now appears every time you open Listen mode until you tap "Don't show again" — it walks you through pairing earbuds, turns on Voice Focus, switches on Live Captions, runs a dramatic EQ sweep through bass, treble, and voice so you can feel what the equalizer does, and points to the hearing test.
The tour is translated into all 19 supported app languages.

Build 85 — May 19, 2026

Settings: the dismiss control is now a clearer red close button, matching the other modal screens in the app.
Subscription status badge (Premium / Free) now displays in your selected language across all 19 supported languages.
Updated to meet Apple's latest App Store privacy and encryption-declaration requirements.

Build 84 — May 15, 2026

Voice Conversation: faster, more reliable captions — duplicated opening lines are fixed, long mid-utterance pauses no longer block the last word from appearing, and both speakers' replies show up in the order they were spoken.
Voice Conversation: new Quality / Battery Saver toggle under the controls lets you choose between the smoothest captions or extra battery life on long calls.
iPad: live captions now fill the available screen space, with right-sized fonts instead of oversized text in a small box.
Voice Conversation: tapping Retry on the earbuds-required prompt without earbuds now properly re-shows the prompt instead of leaving you in a non-working session.

Build 81 — May 14, 2026

Voice Conversation: your partner's earlier replies no longer disappear when they speak again — both sides of the conversation stay visible throughout the session.

Build 80 — May 12, 2026

Listen Mode: dual-microphone stereo wireless receivers (such as the Hollyland Lark M2 in stereo mode) now caption both speakers. Previously only one channel reached speech recognition.

Build 79 — May 12, 2026

iPad: Translation Mode no longer freezes when returning to the app or switching between modes.

Build 78 — May 11, 2026

iPad: refined layout across all screens — icons, text, and buttons now properly proportioned on iPad and iPad Pro.
Tap your Premium badge in any mode to manage your plan — easily switch between Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly subscriptions.
Mono / Stereo audio toggle now applies instantly mid-session, with a confirming tap when the change is live.
Improved stereo support for dual-microphone wireless receivers (Hollyland Lark A1 and M2). New in-app guide explains how to enable Stereo mode using the manufacturer's app.
iPad: Bluetooth earbuds are now detected reliably the moment they connect — no need to close and reopen the app.
The 14-day free trial now gives unlimited access in every mode: Listen, Translation, Conversation, and Text Chat.
Yearly plan now shows the equivalent weekly cost so long-term savings are clearer.
Recommended Hardware expanded with new validated devices: Hollyland Lark M2, Maono Wave T5, RØDE Wireless Micro, plus useful accessories — Soundcore P30i earbuds, magnetic charger, compact power bank, and a short USB-C extension cable.

Build 77 — May 9, 2026

Build 76 — May 9, 2026

Voice Conversation: smoother session reset between calls and a more accurate session timer.

Build 75 — May 7, 2026

Listen Mode: refined volume handling, smarter silence detection, and improved Noise Gate defaults so quiet sounds aren't accidentally muted.
Audio resumes automatically after phone calls — even when your phone was locked during the call.
Translation Mode: smoother language switching mid-session.
Text Chat: more reliable transcript saving on both devices.
Volume Boost remembers its setting between app launches.
New Settings → Diagnostic Logging toggle (off by default; logs stay on your device, never uploaded).
Expanded Help & Troubleshooting with new entries.
Across-the-app reliability and polish improvements.

Build 74 — May 6, 2026

Fixed a crash when unplugging a USB mic during a Listen Mode session — especially after a phone-call interruption. Audio engine teardown is now serialized so route changes can't race.
Audio recovers automatically after a phone call ends — even when OndaHear was backgrounded or the phone was locked. Previously the session stayed paused until you brought the app back to focus; now it resumes the moment you return.
Auto-stop on silence now works as expected. The silence threshold was too sensitive — wireless-mic noise alone could keep the timer reset. With the new tuning, sessions actually time out after the configured idle period.
Text Chat save sheet now shows the transcript on both phones when one side ends the chat. Previously one phone could come up with an empty preview.
Listen Mode disconnect prompt: when the broadcasting phone disconnects, tapping OK on the alert now ends the listening session cleanly so you can start fresh, rather than leaving it idle in the background.
Listen Mode toolbar: the moon icon now shows a "Dim Screen" label so it's no longer a mystery button.
Free-tier limits unified across all listening modes. Conversation Mode and Text Chat now share the same 30 min/day budget as Listen Mode (premium remains unlimited). Saved transcripts cap at 5 with a 7-day retention window for free users.
Hearing Test now correctly requires a Premium subscription, matching the marketing.
Transcript export (PDF/share) now correctly requires a Premium subscription.
Custom hearing profile saving now correctly requires a Premium subscription.
Removed misleading "Sound Alerts" claim — OndaHear directs you to Apple's built-in Sound Recognition (under iOS Settings → Accessibility), it doesn't deliver alerts itself.
Conversation Mode and Multilingual Workplaces descriptions corrected to honestly reflect that the translated voice is auto-spoken in your chosen language (raw voice is muted by default for cleaner comprehension).
Religious Services & Events use case rewritten as a 1:1 listening scenario rather than implying group broadcast.

Build 73 — May 4, 2026

Listen Mode no longer feeds back when the volume boost is pushed too high with the built-in mic. The boost slider now caps at a safe level when using the iPhone's built-in microphone (which sits close enough to your earbuds to loop). Plug in a USB or wireless mic to unlock the full range — the slider extends automatically.

Build 72 — May 3, 2026

Fixed a rare crash when starting Listen mode after long idle with audio routes in flux (USB mic plug/unplug + Bluetooth earbud reconnect happening together). The audio engine setup is now serialized so concurrent attempts during a fast route change can no longer race.
Renamed Hearing Loop Mode to Speech Clarity Preset. Same processing — the new name describes what it actually does (boost mid-range, even out volume, reduce low-frequency rumble) rather than implying T-coil hearing-loop reception that an iPhone can't actually do.

Build 71 — May 2, 2026

Listen mode no longer creates feedback when using earbuds. Audio now stays in your earbuds instead of leaking to the iPhone speaker.
Translation mode: closing the screen now reliably offers to save your conversation log.
Apple Watch: tapping Start now opens the right mode view on the iPhone — Conversation, Text Chat, or Translation.
Apple Watch: Text Chat is now a selectable mode on the watch.
The Listen mode save prompt no longer disappears when an external mic is unplugged mid-session.
Help screen: long titles now fit on one line on smaller iPhones.

Build 70 — April 30, 2026

Conversation mode now uses spoken text-to-speech by default — clearer for hard-of-hearing comprehension than the raw voice signal.
Captions in Conversation mode tag your speech and the other person's speech separately so it's clear who said what.
Both phones get their own “Save transcript” prompt when the session ends — even if the other person's app loses connection unexpectedly.
New Dim Screen button now also in Conversation mode (previously only in Listen) for long calls.
Battery-saving improvements when no one is speaking.
Low-battery alerts in audio modes.
iPad support clearly indicated throughout the app and website.
Hardware guide updated with Amazon search links and the new RØDE Wireless Micro added.

Build 69 — April 30, 2026

Audio Devices picker now follows the actual mic in auto-select mode — the green checkmark moves to a wireless mic the moment you plug it in.
Live Captions are now off by default on first install. Enable them anytime from the Listen screen.
Auto-Stop on Silence and Dim Screen labels are translated in all 19 supported languages.

Build 68 — April 29, 2026

Constant volume in Listen mode. Audio output stays at the level you set — it no longer drifts up or down based on how loud or quiet your input is.
Stereo wireless mic support. RØDE Wireless Micro and similar dual-transmitter receivers are routed correctly — left transmitter to the left earbud, right to the right.
One quiet channel no longer fades the whole audio out. Silence and noise-gate detectors now look at all channels.
Independent save prompts in Text Chat and Conversation. When one person ends the chat, both phones now get their own “Save transcript?” sheet at the same time. Each side saves independently.
New Dim Screen moon button in Listen mode. Tap to black out the display while audio keeps running. Tap again to wake.
Mono Mode toggle is now functional — folds a stereo source into both earbuds when you want both ears to hear the same thing.
Smaller audio glitches eliminated on stereo USB + Bluetooth combinations.

Earlier in v2.0

Translated captions in Conversation and Text Chat. Each side reads in their chosen language while talking in their own.
Auto-spoken translations. Incoming captions are read aloud automatically in the receiver's language.
Translation language picker now shows which languages are downloaded and which need to be installed, with a download confirmation step.
Auto-stop on inactivity setting added. Defaults on; can be turned off in Settings → Audio.
Avoid Audio Feedback page added to onboarding so new users learn how to keep the mic and earbuds separated.
Save transcript on abrupt stop. If the session ends because earbuds disconnect or a USB mic is unplugged, the captions are still saved.
Improved feedback safety: the app stops automatically if both the input mic and the output go to the iPhone speaker (a guaranteed feedback loop).
Various fixes for Bluetooth + USB routing edge cases (USB plug/unplug, route flips, headphones-only output enforcement).
Localization improvements across all 19 supported languages.

Looking for older versions?

Anything older than the current version is no longer supported — please update from the App Store to receive bug fixes and improvements. If you have a question about a specific change, get in touch at support@ondahear.com.