Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

The Market For Hearable Devices 2016-2020 – And Then There Were Airpods…

The hearables market goes back to the first Bluetooth headsets which were launched in 2001, followed by wireless stereo headphones, which arrived a few years later. Neither made great waves in the market – headsets were associated with cabbies rather than celebrities and Bluetooth stereo headphones took almost a decade to attain any market share. In 2013, that started to change. Major brands were taken by surprise as consumers started to purchase wireless headphones. The most credible reason I’ve heard for the change is that it was driven by the growth of mobile video on larger handsets, with users preferring to dispense with the annoyance of cables when holding the phone screen horizontally. That’s supported by research from Parks Associates showing the average US smartphone user stream music or video for 90 minutes each day. Whatever the reason for the sudden popularity, there is no question that they are now fashionable.

From the article "The Market For Hearable Devices 2016-2020 – And Then There Were Airpods…" by Nick Hunn.

Previously In The News

Google Home now has a screen — and, soon, Spotify

The small, candle-shaped speaker equipped with the artificial-intelligence personal helper Google Assistant, has sold about 300,000 units since hitting the market in October, according to research and...

Fitbit Buys Smartwatch Pioneer Pebble Amid Wearables Shakeup

The smartwatch market has also slumped. Apple Watch sales are down this year, and Lenovo’s Motorola brand has dropped out of the market. Most people simply aren’t finding reasons to buy them: Smartwat...

Why Open Wins Over Proprietary In The Smart Home

There are many glowing predictions regarding the smart home, and the wider IoT industry, but a Gartner report predicted only last year that 21 billion IoT endpoints will be in use by 2020, which will...

Streaming Service Stacking Continues; OTT Providers Face Challenges in Growing Market

Video streaming service stacking is likely to continue near term, after accelerating during the shelter-at-home period for the coronavirus, said industry executives on a Parks Associates webinar Wedne...