Anker announced its first over-the-counter hearing aids at IFA 2026, featuring the Thus chip for voice isolation and fast charging, aiming to fill the gap left by other manufacturers exiting the market.
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<img alt="The Anker over-the-counter hearing aids and their charging case on a two-tone white and yellow background." data-caption="Anker’s first OTC hearing aids, powered by the Thus chip, are expected in coming months. | Image: Anker" data-portal-copyright="Image: Anker" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/anker-otc-hearing-aid-image.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
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Anker’s first OTC hearing aids, powered by the Thus chip, are expected in coming months. | Image: Anker </figcaption>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In what could be fortuitous timing for hearing aid users, Anker announced its first over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids at IFA 2026. It was only a couple months ago when LXE Hearing, the parent company for Eargo and Lexie Hearing - two major OTC manufacturers in the US - decided to end US operations and <a href="https://hearingreview.com/hearing-products/hearing-aids/otc/lxe-hearing-announces-wind-down-of-us-operations-affecting-eargo-lexie-and-go-brands" data-type="link" data-id="https://hearingreview.com/hearing-products/hearing-aids/otc/lxe-hearing-announces-wind-down-of-us-operations-affecting-eargo-lexie-and-go-brands">exit the OTC hearing aid market</a>. Now perhaps Anker can fill that void.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The receiver-in-canal (RIC) design has a main body that rests behind the ear. It uses Anker's Thus chip, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/916463/anker-thus-chip-announcement" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.theverge.com/tech/916463/anker-thus-chip-announcement">announced in April</a> and first released in the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/935766/soundcore-liberty-5-pro-series-earbuds-review" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.theverge.com/tech/935766/soundcore-liberty-5-pro-series-earbuds-review">Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro earbuds</a> series. The chip delivers the best voice isolation I've ever heard on any audio product an …</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/986377/ankers-first-otc-hearing-aids-ifa-2026">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
# Anker announces its first over-the-counter hearing aids
Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/986377/ankers-first-otc-hearing-aids-ifa-2026](https://www.theverge.com/tech/986377/ankers-first-otc-hearing-aids-ifa-2026)
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John Higgins
is a senior reviewer covering TVs and audio\. He has over 20 years experience in AV, and has previously been on staff at Digital Trends and Reviewed\.
In what could be fortuitous timing for hearing aid users, Anker announced its first over\-the\-counter \(OTC\) hearing aids at IFA 2026\. It was only a couple months ago when LXE Hearing, the parent company for Eargo and Lexie Hearing — two major OTC manufacturers in the US — decided to end US operations and[exit the OTC hearing aid market](https://hearingreview.com/hearing-products/hearing-aids/otc/lxe-hearing-announces-wind-down-of-us-operations-affecting-eargo-lexie-and-go-brands)\. Now perhaps Anker can fill that void\.
The receiver\-in\-canal \(RIC\) design has a main body that rests behind the ear\. It uses Anker’s Thus chip,[announced in April](https://www.theverge.com/tech/916463/anker-thus-chip-announcement)and first released in the[Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro earbuds](https://www.theverge.com/tech/935766/soundcore-liberty-5-pro-series-earbuds-review)series\. The chip delivers the best voice isolation I’ve ever heard on any audio product and could be an incredible boon for the hearing aids\.
Anker’s RIC hearing aids use four beam\-forming microphones to focus on who the user is speaking to in front of them\. They get up to 12 hours of use \(up to 36 hours with the case\) and gain two hours of use with a five\-minute fast charge — Anker claims this is the quickest fast charge among its competitors\.
There aren’t any additional details about exact models or US availability and pricing, but we should know more by the end of the year\.
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- John Higgins
Soundcore, Anker's audio brand, announced new headphones and earbuds at IFA 2026 featuring the Thus chip for improved call quality and AI transcription capabilities.
Anker announces the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro and Pro Max earbuds, the first to feature its Thus AI chip for enhanced noise reduction and voice clarity, with improved ANC and a touchscreen charging case.
Anker unveiled its custom Thus AI chip using compute-in-memory architecture to enable local AI on tiny devices, starting with upcoming Soundcore flagship earbuds for superior call noise cancellation.
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