Is true wireless headset invading spatial audio expected to enter the mainstream?


　　From daily commuting, watching videos, gaming, telecommuting to listening to music, people use their audio devices a lot every day.

Globally, the most commonly used personal electronic devices are smartphones, smart speakers and true wireless earbuds.

Moreover, people are constantly pursuing more advanced features brought by audio equipment, such as lossless sound quality and spatial audio functions.

product upgrade

True wireless headset comfort is as important as sound quality

　　The recently released "Audio Product Usage Status Survey Report 2022" by Qualcomm shows that true wireless earphones have become the third most frequently used daily audio equipment by consumers after the speakers of mobile phones and TVs, surpassing computer speakers. The in-ear-listening feature has a lot to do with it.

Moreover, true wireless earbuds are widely used in scenarios such as listening to music, playing games, and voice calls. Usually, users spend more than 1 hour a day in the above activities.

　　For the past six years, the number one factor people have considered when choosing headphones has been sound quality.

In 2022, the ranking of price and comfort is as important as sound quality.

As true wireless earbuds and wireless earbuds last longer and have longer battery life, comfort becomes a key factor.

At the same time, the importance of lossless sound quality is also increasing year by year, and sound quality is still one of the three main factors in choosing headphones.

Compared with the data in 2021, in 2022, people's demand for high-resolution audio, active noise reduction, spatial audio and hearing enhancement will increase by more than 10% for mid-to-high-end headset products.

Among them, 5% of the respondents want high-resolution or lossless sound quality.

　　Battery life is the primary driving factor for people to choose wireless speakers.

The survey shows that whether it is a Bluetooth speaker or a smart speaker, battery life is the most important factor for people.

As the use of battery-operated portable wireless speakers continues to expand, people expect products to have longer battery life.

rich scene

Office game life is inseparable from headphones

　　When it comes to the application scenarios of audio products, the most popular ones are mixed office, gaming and active noise reduction.

　　The first is the hybrid office model, which is becoming more and more common in many countries.

As voice and video calls have become an important part of work, audio products are driven to continuously upgrade related technologies, which can support users to obtain a stable and high-quality call experience at work, at home and when they are out and about.

　　At the same time, true wireless earbuds are becoming an integral part of the mobile gaming scene.

Players spend an average of 2 hours a day playing games on their smartphones wearing true wireless earbuds.

　　Listening to music while walking or jogging outdoors, and needing to communicate with people around you during a conference call...In similar scenarios, people want to block out loud noises from the outside world, but also need to be able to perceive small sounds. Active noise reduction is suitable for such occasions .

This technology has become a more important driver of people's choice of audio products than in the past.

Pursue sound quality

Spatial audio is a new trend in the future

　　Although the "sensitivity" of human hearing has no advantage in nature, the pursuit of "good voice" has never stopped.

And people's pursuit of high-quality audio is reflected from software to hardware.

　　The first is the sound source. When asked about the priority level of sound quality when purchasing a new wireless audio device, more people choose lossless and CD-quality audio than before, and two-thirds of the respondents want to enjoy sound quality that exceeds MP3 quality.

　　Besides lossless sound quality, the next "must have" feature for audio equipment is spatial audio.

Spatial audio, commonly referred to as 3D audio, allows people to fully immerse themselves in a virtual three-dimensional audio space.

At present, most smartphones can play spatial audio, but if we want to fully utilize spatial audio technology to play music, movies, games or other content, we need to produce more content and adopt more new technologies.

For example, in headphones and true wireless products, audio technology with head tracking can provide a fully immersive surround sound experience.

　　Therefore, back to the equipment, 41% of the respondents are willing to pay extra for spatial audio when purchasing new true wireless headphones.

Moreover, with the continuous advancement of true wireless earbud technology and functions, people have more expectations for its features.

More than half of respondents said that spatial audio features will influence their decision to purchase their next pair of wireless earbuds.

　　It is worth noting that related fields are "struggling" to integrate spatial audio functions into rich multimedia forms.

For example, music products are producing relevant content to enhance the listening experience of musician fans and help realize a more realistic virtual concert experience; filmmakers are using spatial audio to create a more immersive "soundscape" experience, Especially for home theater systems.

Game content providers have also begun to use spatial audio to create more immersive gameplay, especially in the VR field: by integrating head tracking, players can obtain real-time spatial audio when exploring the virtual world, and the "sense of substitution" will be stronger.

　　In addition, people are ready for Bluetooth low power audio, with one-third of respondents saying they want low power audio features such as broadcast audio in their upcoming audio equipment purchases.

　　Text/Reporter Chen Si