CES 2021 is just getting started, but I think Nootl has found a product that resonates with me for the first time at this year's CES

One of the reasons I don't particularly care about attending CES virtually this year is that it eliminates one of the most unpleasant aspects of attending a live event for me: trying to hear people speaking over the din of a busy show floor

My hearing is not exactly the same as it was before So with thousands of people talking all at once, music blaring from nearby booths, and other ambient noise, everyone who tries to talk to me sounds like Miss Othmar from the Peanuts cartoon

Noopl felt my pain and came to the rescue of me and others who struggle to carry on a conversation in noisy places like restaurants, parties, and public places The startup's self-described audio device plugs into the iPhone's Lightning port and projects the amplified other person's voice directly into the AirPods Pro earphones

The Noopl device, which plugs into the iPhone, has three MEMs microphones and works with the phone's app to process low-latency audio signals Meanwhile, Noopl takes advantage of the spatial audio capabilities included in the AirPods Pro with iOS 14, tracking your head and automatically focusing on the voice of the person you are looking at

As you turn your head, Noopl's microphone beams toward the person you are now looking at This means you can talk to multiple people while filtering out background noise

Noopl will work with other AirPod models, but the head-tracking feature is not available Instead, you must use the app to manually specify where the sound will be heard

Noopl is connected to the Lightning port, so it gets its power from the iPhone However, according to Noopl executives, the impact on the iPhone's battery life is essentially negligible, about 1% of the iPhone's total battery capacity

The device currently works with iPhone 7 or later with iOS 14 and recommends AirPods Pro earphones; an Android version is scheduled for release in the third quarter of this year

Noopl will debut in February for $199 Orders placed before launch will receive a $50 discount