Intelligent Audio is Changing Everything!

In both enterprise and consumer audio, a profound transformation is underway. Devices that once passively transmitted sound are now becoming intelligent, adaptive, and context-aware. Apple’s latest AirPods 4, with their AI-enhanced features, have elevated mainstream awareness of what premium audio can feel like — personalized, immersive, and effortless.

The 2025 NAB Show took place from April 5-9 (exhibits opened April 6) in Las Vegas, NV. The traditional gathering of content, media, and broadcast production hosted annually by the National Association of Broadcasters was once again a reenergizing showcase for all the professionals working on these always-evolving industries that traditionally have helped uphold the highest standards in quality of audio and image. But NAB 2025 was not business as usual.

Over a period of 10 days, at the end of March 2025, I have visited the vibrant Shanghai region of China following an invitation by the China Audio Industry Association (CAIA) to attend the organization's Global Audio Summit 2025. I have often participated in events promoted by national and international audio industry associations, mostly oriented by scientific, academic, engineering, or trading charters. But this one was one of the most vibrant product development conferences I have ever attended. Here is my report.

An exclusive interview with Dino Bekis, Qualcomm's Vice President and General Manager, Wearables & Mixed Signal Solutions Business Unit, where he shares fascinating insights into the company's roadmap and future developments, leveraging the best of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in wireless earbuds and headphones into a seamless, high-quality audio experience. We also learn about Qualcomm's unique vision for its latest generation Snapdragon Sound platforms, and XPAN technology, allowing wireless hi-res audio without bandwidth constraints or compromising battery life.

Many of the tweeters we use today have sprung from the imagination of a Danish fellow, Peter Larsen, affectionately known in the speaker industry as “Tweeter Peter” from his days at JBL in the 1990s. Peter and his wife, Dorit, are also business partners in Loudsoft, the esteemed developer of speaker design software and test instrumentation. Mike Klasco writes about Peter Larsen's significant contributions to the loudspeaker industry and the FINE range of Loudspeaker Design and Test software tools that he created.

Precisely a month since I was at the Barcelona Fira attending the mammoth of a trade show that is Integrated Systems Europe, here I was back in Barcelona for an even bigger and busier event, the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) promoted by the GSMA. 109,000 attendees and 2,900 exhibitors. In this first impressions report I discuss Bluetooth, why there was no Auracast, how Qualcomm made a splash with XPAN, and why are mobile operators obsessed with AI and Robots.

Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2025 celebrated another milestone in the event’s history, with the highest number of exhibitors and a 15.5% increase in visitors from the previous year. The show was mostly about solutions, signal connectivity, networking, and control technologies. Fewer opportunities for product launches, and an attendance increasingly dominated by end users.

NAMM 2025 was better organized, and even with additional challenges from the Los Angeles fires, it was a better trade show, and a better people’s event. In-person events like the NAMM Show are needed more than ever. And NAMM 2025 was an excellent trade show, thanks to the renewed efforts of its promoting association and its new President and CEO, John Mlynczak.

Roger Shively shares his Automotive Audio perspective of CES 2025. An evolutionary year, more tempered after the explosive nature of the software-defined vehicle becoming reality last year. Narrow and Deep AI, Machine Learning, and Generative AI had their roles in developing and maintaining most of the software and platforms for automotive audio at CES 2025. The “Ploughman's Lunch” of Automotive Audio, Shively was going to call his chronicle from the automotive-filled West Hall and the Beach Lot across the street.

A Celebration of the Art of the Possible. CES 2025 was extremely successful. Even with the impression of fewer people because of the show being even more dispersed. In this first impressions report we discuss how Edge-AI (on-device) is transforming what is possible in audio processing. And of course there was MagSafe and Qi2. USB4. Bluetooth LE Audio. Auracast. Wireless Multichannel. And much more. This is necessarily a brief first impressions editorial to follow up on a very intense edition of CES, where the business-to-business aspects of the show have intensified as predicted.