True Wireless Stereo Earbuds
Qualcomm has announced upgrades to some of its sound platform chips, with the S3 gen 3 and S5 gen 3. Here we look at the major changes made. The S3 is aimed at mid-tier audio devices. Looking at the specs for gen 2 and gen 3 the major upgrades on the previous generation include: 2 x compute power An additional Kalimba DSP (2 instead of 1) Improved DAC […]
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Qualcomm’s introduction of the S3 and S5 Gen 3 Sound Platforms marks a significant leap forward in the audio device sector, especially with regards to the development of multi-use case TWS headphones. The new additions to the snapdragon sound platform aim to meet rising consumer expectations for superior audio quality mixed with low latency for […]
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Ambiq Micro was founded in 2010 focused initially on Real Time Clocks (RTC), it launched its first microcontroller in 2015. This microcontroller, known as Apollo and based on Subthreshold Power Optimized Technology (SPOT) was able to achieve significantly lower power consumption and became widely used in power constrained devices such as smart watches. It has made gradual […]
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SAR Insight & Consulting have recently published updated forecasts for all headphone markets, the latest data is now available on the platform. We’ve been tracking the headphone market since the company was founded over 10 years ago and it has been very interesting to see how this market has transformed in that time. The latest […]
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Over the past few years, we’ve seen an increase in open-ear wireless earbuds on the market. In 2021, we saw the release of the Purpods from Mpow and more recently the release of the Ultra Open Earbuds from Bose. Some other notable releases include: Soundgear Sense from JBL in 2023 Open Sport from JLab in 2022 Open EarBuds S50 from 1More in […]
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November 27, 2023, Harman announced the acquisition of Roon, a music software company most well-known for its Roon app. Roon Labs was founded in 2015, but its journey in music technology began much earlier, in 2004. The founders were involved in developing music software for companies like Sooloos, Meridian Audio, and HP before establishing Roon […]
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The incorporation of Powerfoyle solar technology into headphone design represents a notable advancement in sustainable audio solutions, a trend I touched upon in a previous CES roundup. Among the latest products featuring this innovation is the A6219 on-ear GO headphones, showcased as part of the 2024 Philips Sound Range. This introduction underscores a significant shift towards […]
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Getting back to normal? Are we “getting back to normal”, CES 2024 suggest so. This was my 8th year attending in my current role and anecdotally it felt as busy as it ever was pre-COVID. The CEA stated that there were 135,000+ attendees, which is close to the usual 150,000+. As always there was a wide range of […]
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The latest headphones from Creative – Aurvana Ace Series – are the first consumer TWS device to use MEMS speakers, supplied by xMEMS. This follows other devices announced with xMEMS speakers such as hearing aids and IEMs. We are still yet to see a fully MEMS speaker based high volume consumer device and this is […]
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SAR Insight again assisted Qualcomm in the creation of its annual consumer survey – The State of Sound report. This year the audience was extended, to include South Korea and to cover the use of devices in the workplace, for gaming and hearing enhancement. There are lots of interesting results to explore for anyone working […]
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