MAKING SOME NOISE
From $300 made-to-measure earbuds to wireless models controlled by gestures, new players are aiming to shake up the headphone market,
Can you hear that?
That rumble in the distance is the fight that’s brewing over the accessory that already seems to have a model available in every fashionable flavour, function and price point: earphones.
As people use tablets and smartphones more, demand for headphones — or earbuds — has grown over the past decade, with consum- ers apparently willing to pay more for better sound. It’s a market that’s estimated to grow to $17.55 billion (U.S.) by 2022, according to a report by San Francisco Grand View Research, Inc.
It’s also a lucrative market that may be about to undergo a dramatic shakeup.
Rumours abound that Apple will get rid of the standard headphone jack on the next version of the iPhone, in a bid to make the smart- phone even thinner.
Speculation is that the earphones would connect to the iPhone through the Lightning port — or that Apple would create some kind of wireless Beats earphones. The company reportedly filed a trademark for the name “Airpods” in September, although whether they will come with the phone or will be an expensive accessory remains to be seen.
For most people, earbuds have always been just a throw-in that comes with the price of your smartphone. Most folks also have issues with the standard pair: depending on your ears, they often fall out.
And in a wireless, Bluetooth-en- abled world, the headphone cord seems like an unnecessary and irritating holdover from an earlier era.
For electronics companies, smartphones seem as though they have been maxed out. Innovation of the devices are becoming more incremental, so companies looking for areas where people might spend are turning to the accessories market. Earbuds are an area where there hasn’t been much change, so they are ripe for a technological upgrade.
As well, there’s a market for higherpriced headphones in general, judging by the popularity of brands such as Beats. Just last week, guitarmaker Fender launched a line of earbuds aimed at pro users and audiophiles. On the extreme upper end of the scale, audiophile brand Sennheiser currently has a $55,000 (U.S.) overear headphone model for sale.
But as specialized versions proliferate — gaming headsets, noise cancelling, sport versions — many companies are hoping that by adding new tech and solving age-old problems they will entice buyers willing to shell out a few hundred dollars for in-ear buds, just as some do for larger headphones.
One thing that is clear is that in the headphone space there is a lot of sound and fury signifying something.