All items tagged with Apple (175)

Apple Promotes Hearing Health with new WatchOS6 Noise Control Feature

September 23, 2019 by audioXpress Staff

Apple Promotes Hearing Health with new WatchOS6 Noise Control Feature

The new Noise app, introduced with watchOS 6 for any Apple Watch Series, helps users understand the ambient sound levels in environments such as concerts and sporting events that could negatively impact hearing. As the sound levels change, the app’s decibel meter moves in real time. The watch can send a notification if the decibel level reaches 90 decibels, which can begin to impact hearing after four hours per week of exposure at this level, according to the World Health Organization.

In Perspective: Amazon Lossless Audio Streaming Option with Amazon Music HD

September 18, 2019 by Joao Martins

In Perspective: Amazon Lossless Audio Streaming Option with Amazon Music HD

Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Music HD, a new tier of "higher quality" lossless streaming, promising "more than 50 million songs in High Definition," and "millions of songs in Ultra High Definition," a designation akin to TV services that Amazon thinks consumers will understand better than High Resolution Audio (HRA). The first tier of the service "High Definition" is in fact a CD-quality FLAC lossless streaming, while the "Ultra HD" tier defines FLAC streaming of 24-bit and a sample rate up to 192 kHz, or HRA.

Global Headphone Market Revenue Growth Exceeds 40% in Q2 2019

September 10, 2019 by audioXpress Staff

Global Headphone Market Revenue Growth Exceeds 40% in Q2 2019

Futuresource Consulting just released the latest market update on its dedicated global headphone market research. According to the latest quarterly tracker report from Futuresource, premium headphones continue to capture the imagination of consumers, with global revenues in Q2 2019 growing nearly four times faster than shipments, at 44% year-on-year.

USB-IF Announces Publication of USB4 Specification that Doubles Bandwidth to Extend USB Type-C Performance

September 3, 2019 by Joao Martins

USB-IF Announces Publication of USB4 Specification that Doubles Bandwidth to Extend USB Type-C Performance

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) announced the publication of the USB4 specification, a major update to deliver the next-generation USB architecture that complements and builds upon the existing USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 architectures. The USB4 architecture is based on the Thunderbolt protocol specification contributed by Intel to the USB Promoter Group. It doubles the maximum aggregate bandwidth of USB and enables multiple simultaneous data and display protocols.

Apple Digital Masters: Why Is Everyone Talking About It?

August 22, 2019 by Joao Martins

Apple Digital Masters: Why Is Everyone Talking About It?

It all started with an article from Billboard that stated: "On Wednesday (August 7) Apple Music announced the launch of Apple Digital Masters, a new initiative by the streaming giant that combines all of its "Mastered for iTunes" offerings into one global catalog. This is the company's first public acknowledgement of the initiative, which it has been quietly unveiling for some time." And suddenly the story was all over the place. But Apple didn't actually announce anything. Or at least, there was no official press release from Apple to be found confirming the story.

With Competition Between Streaming Services Intensifying, Hardware Has Become an Important Growth Factor

August 22, 2019 by Futuresource Consulting

With Competition Between Streaming Services Intensifying, Hardware Has Become an Important Growth Factor

After a dynamic few years in the music and audio industries, 2018 and the first half of 2019 have once again been marked by the continuous growth of global music streaming subscriptions, with this momentum expected to continue in the short to medium term. By 2023, Futuresource expects the number of streaming subscriptions to exceed 425 million globally, representing over 90% of total consumer spend on recorded music, according to its latest Streaming Music Outlook & Service overview report.

Strategy Analytics: Global Smart Speaker Sales Soared 96% To 30.3 Million In Q2 2019

August 19, 2019 by audioXpress Staff

Strategy Analytics: Global Smart Speaker Sales Soared 96% To 30.3 Million In Q2 2019

Global sales of smart speakers continued to soar in the second quarter of 2019, reaching 30.3 million units, nearly double the same period in 2018, according to the latest research from Strategy Analytics. With a 21.9% share, Amazon remained the leading brand. Google retained second place, followed by Baidu, Alibaba and Xiaomi. Apple’s smart speaker sales increased 81% compared to a year earlier, but its share fell slightly and it remained in sixth place.

Current Smart Speaker Consumers Value Sound Quality

July 22, 2019 by audioXpress Staff

Current Smart Speaker Consumers Value Sound Quality

Apparently Apple got it right. Once again. As smart speaker adoption continues to climb, more than half of existing owners would like to have a smart speaker with better sound quality than their current device, while a similar number would pay more for it. That’s one of the findings from the new “Audio Tech Lifestyles” consumer survey from Futuresource Consulting, conducted in the USA, UK, Germany, Japan and China.

Headphone Shipments Achieve Q1 2019 Revenues of $5.9 Billion

July 3, 2019 by Futuresource Consulting

Headphone Shipments Achieve Q1 2019 Revenues of $5.9 Billion

Consumer appetite for premium headphones continues to grow, with global revenues rising five times faster than shipments in Q1 2019, according to the latest market tracker report from Futuresource Consulting. As the CE Team at Futuresource highlights in its latest update of the Worldwide Headphone Market Report, headphone market revenues have reached $5.9 billion. True wireless maintained its ascendance, outperforming all other form factors with growth of 223% in units and 188% in value.

True Wireless Headphone Bandwagon gets More Crowded, as Brands vie to Challenge Apple

July 1, 2019 by Futuresource Consulting

True Wireless Headphone Bandwagon gets More Crowded, as Brands vie to Challenge Apple

True wireless headphones sales have enjoyed extraordinary growth in the past year. After a very successful Q4 2018, which saw shipments reach a total equal to the previous three quarters combined, Q1 2019 witnessed year-on-year growth of 223% in units and 188% in revenue. Consumers appear to enjoy the freedom that truly wireless products bring. Although, the continued domination by AirPods does still mean that the market remains a largely Apple phenomenon.

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