Why smart earbuds are here to stay
Even as we continue to focus on smartwatches and smart glasses to change the face of wearable technology, a less-talked about revolution is taking place, which holds within itself the potential to truly bring wearable technologies to the centre stage of the interconnected world of Internet of Things (IoT).
Though not perfect, smart earbuds have been around for a while, but have, till now, failed to create the kind of buzz that other interconnected devices like watches, speakers and even smart glasses have managed to. But that could soon change. Over the past couple of weeks, Google's Pixel Buds have given new life to the conversation around the need and future of smart hearables.
With the Pixel Buds, Google is sticking to its core strengths and creating hardware tailored to make use of the advancements in machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI). And that strategy, in a nutshell, could be the key to the growth of smart hearables industry in the future. As opposed to other smart IoT devices, earbuds like the ones that Google is offering solve real problems instead of just being gimmicks.
Case in point the Pixel Buds and their ability to read out notifications, assist with directions, alert you about calendar events or incoming messages – even read them to you if you can’t look at your phone. If that's not all, the Pixel Buds can even help you translate between languages in real time using Google Translate on your Pixel phone.
In addition, Google's offering and other smart earbuds also promise to revolutionise the way we interact with our phones, listen to music, audiobooks, podcasts or simply take and reject calls.
But that's not all. These smartbuds in the future may very well end up carrying out tasks that could end up making them the most important pegs in the tech industry's march towards the interconnected and IoT-driven world of the future.
Speaking to CNBC about the doors that hearables technologies open, Craig Stires, associate vice president for big data, analytics and software at IDC Asia Pacific, said: "There's some interesting information you can capture through the ear. We've been looking at things like wrist wearables, but the ear can capture things like oxygen levels, electrocardiograms, and body temperature".
'Ear is the new wrist'
The smart earbuds or the "hearables" market due to its great potential is expected to grow exponentially in the years to come, and if the experts are to be believed, they will start overshadowing other smart wearable businesses by swelling up to a $5 billion market by 2018.
Explaining the drive behind this growth, wireless technology expert Nick Hunn said: "Earbuds may be simple tech today, but they can stream an endless supply of new music. As they don't rely on a sensor, but are just a carrier of content, the content they supply can remain eternally fresh and compelling — they don't need constantly new and novel applications to keep us hooked."
Where is the innovation coming from?
With big-name players like Apple, Samsung and now Google already in the ring, it will be interesting to know that much of the innovation in the smart hearable industry is being seen from smaller players and even kickstarter projects. The real-time translation feature of the Pixel Buds, for example, closely resembles the core idea of a kickstarter project – Smart Earpiece Language Translator – that has been in the market for more than a year now.
Even the world's first wireless smart in-ear headphones that play music and give you feedback on exercise sessions was announced not by any of the bigwigs but a German firm Bragi.
But despite the part they have played in the growth of smart hearables industry, the long-term future of these projects and firms still remains unclear. This was very much highlighted by Doppler Labs – a smart earbud company that raised more than $50 million in funding from backers like Universal Music, Live Nation and the Chernin Group – shutting down earlier this week after running out of cash to continue their operations.
The startup had developed the Here One earbuds with noise-cancellation and a feature called “active listening” that allowed users to augment the way they heard the world around them so they could tune out the hum of traffic or a jet engine while still being able to hear human voices.
But despite the exit of such startups and kickstarters from the scene, the future of smart earbuds looks safe. Because of their form factor that enables them to act as a discrete wireless speaker and microphone that live in your ear, these devices straight out of sci-fi are certain to greatly influence the future.