Developing compelling, true wireless connected audio products

It started with the Sony Walkman in 1979, a portable cassette player with “headphones” that empowered people to listen to music on the go. Four decades later, we’re still expanding on that concept.

Today’s headphones are wireless, and way, way smarter.

Connected audio products with true wireless technology are quickly taking over the audio market, enabling consumers to interact with their devices in new ways.

True wireless earphones are a specific type of product: they refer to Bluetooth earbuds or IEM’s (In-Ear Monitors) that have no cords or wires between them and their digital audio source. All hardware features (microphone, controls and battery) are built directly into the earbuds. One of the first popular versions of this technology was the Apple Airpods, released in 2016. The dominance of the true wireless products in the portable audio market is primarily a result of its convenience for streaming audio (no tangled wires!).

As future technology evolves (like 5G), we predict that customers will demand powerful integrations that extend beyond just streaming music or making calls. They will want a device that integrates with other devices in their smart ecosystem. Think Alexa or Ring.

As we anticipate future applications, it’s important to consider these fundamentals in true wireless audio product design.

Hardware

Today’s headphones and speakers include specific hardware to support wireless audio: long-range Bluetooth antenna, microphones, long-life battery with wireless charging case, multiple ear tip sizes, etc.

But hardware isn’t all function and no fun.

In addition to supporting functionality, hardware can add sexiness to a product. A sleek look goes a long way. A great example of this is the T5 II True Wireless Sport McLaren Edition from Klipsch. Klipsch has capitalized on an attractive earbud design by co-branding their product with the McLaren Formula 1 racing team. The result is a product with high value in the eyes of customers. Klipsch sold out their pre-sale inventory prior to launch.

Software

Great integrated software is extremely important to product development. This can live in two places: the embedded software on the device itself (the firmware), and a companion mobile application.

A frictionless experience for the customer is a non-negotiable in consumer tech. To facilitate this, make sure that embedded software and mobile app developers are aligned and collaborating. Those teams should be brought in together and engaged at the same time at the start of build. If this work is done sequentially (firmware first, mobile app second) you risk degrading the user experience in the application.

For a product to succeed, both firmware and app development teams need to understand the challenges and limitations in the system design up front, so they can work together to build the best user experience.

Outside Source specializes in user experience design and integrated mobile app development for IoT products. A companion mobile app, like the one we developed for Klipsch, gives customers the power to control earbud settings such as transparency levels and EQ. It also provides the mechanism for delivering software updates and new features. This is an important part of the overall user experience.

Integrations

It’s important for product companies to understand how customers interact with technology in their everyday life, so they can identify opportunities to integrate with other platforms that will make their customers lives better or easier.

The idea of true wireless earbuds that integrate with voice assistants, smart home platforms or other third party technology is very compelling. A great example of this is when Bose embedded Tile’s item-finding technology so that their customers could locate their product if lost.

The Future

Just as phones evolved into multimedia and geolocation navigational devices, earbuds will adapt to serve new functions As 5G technology becomes more commonplace, connected audio technology will become smaller, lighter and more powerful. In fact, it is likely that earbuds will lose their dependence on connecting to smartphones, and will become small mini-computers themselves. They will connect to other devices in the consumer’s ecosystem of intelligent products and function independently via voice control (or maybe even thought!).

In the near term, audio companies should monitor and explore emerging technologies like augmented reality or smart lenses. The increased speed and processing power of 5G will make such integrations viable. Earbuds could also provide accurate, real-time language translation, or deliver GPS-specific audio content based on where you are standing.

To build competitive products in the future, audio companies will need to focus on customer needs beyond just telephony and media playback. The integrations made possible by 5G technologies may eventually bypass those common use cases in order of importance.