All items tagged with Apple (174)

True Wireless Stereo Earbuds Sales Grow 90% in 2020 as Chinese Vendors Surge

January 27, 2021 by audioXpress Staff

True Wireless Stereo Earbuds Sales Grow 90% in 2020 as Chinese Vendors Surge

According to a newly published series of reports from the Device Technologies (EDT) team at market research firm Strategy Analytics, total global Bluetooth headset sales have reached volumes over 300 million units in 2020. As a category, True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Bluetooth headset sales witnessed growth of nearly 90% in 2020. This level of growth originates from a large number of Chinese vendors challenging Apple's significant lead.

Situational Loudspeakers: Different Ways of Thinking About Speaker Design

December 10, 2020 by Joao Martins

Situational Loudspeakers: Different Ways of Thinking About Speaker Design

One of the most intriguing concepts in speaker design is the notion that people have to sit in a very limited sweet spot - a carefully triangulated arrangement of a center line between our ears and the point source in a pair of speakers. For many music and audio enthusiasts, there's no other way - and preferably in a carefully treated listening environment designed for musical enjoyment. But what the market once dubbed as "living room stereo" is something that the vast majority of people completely ignore. Why would you even have to sit still to listen to music?

Apple Introduces AirPods Max Over-Ear Headphones with Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, and Spatial Audio

December 8, 2020 by Joao Martins

Apple Introduces AirPods Max Over-Ear Headphones with Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, and Spatial Audio

Everyone knew it was coming because the rumors about the new over-ear headphone design abounded for some time, but no one knew exactly what the focus for the new product would be, except that everyone was anticipating an "augmented" edition of the popular AirPods Pro in-ears. Now, we know it is a radically new approach to wireless headphones, leveraging all of Apple's technologies and experience in design and user interfaces. Most importantly, the AirPods Max headphones combine high-fidelity audio with Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, and spatial audio.

Kensington Unveils First Fully Powered Thunderbolt 4 Laptop Docking Station

November 18, 2020 by Joao Martins

Kensington Unveils First Fully Powered Thunderbolt 4 Laptop Docking Station

Kensington announced the SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 laptop docking station — the first of its kind to provide dedicated power to all of your connected devices no matter how many are connected to it. This universally compatible, modern docking station unlocks the power of Thunderbolt 4 for the ultimate plug-and-play solution and is one the very first certified products to reach the market according to the brand new specification.

Global Smart Speaker Market Set to Reach 163 Million Units in 2021

October 30, 2020 by audioXpress Staff

Global Smart Speaker Market Set to Reach 163 Million Units in 2021

With a slightly more conservative forecast than some published reports from other market research firms, Canalys expects the global smart speaker market, including smart displays, to reach 163 million units in 2021, characterized as a growth of 21%. In 2020, Mainland China, which has the COVID-19 pandemic relatively under control, will lead, growing 16%, while the rest of the global market is expected to grow 3% as countries continue to battle the coronavirus.

The First Smart Speaker from Apple: A Strong Design and How It Is Perceived

October 15, 2020 by Joao Martins

The First Smart Speaker from Apple: A Strong Design and How It Is Perceived

For this edition of The Audio Voice, I intended to focus a bit more on the latest developments in the fascinating world of sensors and how it impacts product development and design in all applications areas, particularly in consumer electronics, automotive, and health applications. After writing previously about Apple - the sensors on the Apple Watch and the surprising firmware updates for the AirPod Pro earbuds - I really didn't want to go back to Apple. But as always, Apple has a way of surprising us exactly when we least expected, and the company made another important audio announcement.

Apple Unveils HomePod mini Smart Speaker to Expand Its Smart Home Ecosystem

October 13, 2020 by audioXpress Staff

Apple Unveils HomePod mini Smart Speaker to Expand Its Smart Home Ecosystem

Opening what was broadly expected to be an event focused on the iPhone 12 unveiling, Apple introduced the new HomePod mini. Unlike the original HomePod, primarily focused on the music listening experience, the HomePod mini is touted as an actual Smart Speaker. In fact, betting on leading on four fronts: to combine a great music listening experience, an intelligent assistant, and smart home capabilities, with built-in privacy and security, in a beautiful compact design. Also much more affordable, at just $99.

Follow the Leader, Leader, Leader... Spatial Audio? What Will They Come Up With Next?

October 1, 2020 by Joao Martins

Follow the Leader, Leader, Leader... Spatial Audio? What Will They Come Up With Next?

As it was announced during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference back in June 2020, among all the spectacular updates to all the company's operating systems (iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14), Apple discussed a new firmware update that would add spatial audio support for the company's AirPods Pro. Well, a few days ago, Apple did release the promised firmware update and suddenly, the spatial audio support in the AirPods Pro was a reality. And what an update! As everyone realized soon enough, the results are simply spectacular and very noticeable while watching movies with good soundtracks.

Actively Smart True Wireless Earbuds: How to Augment Your Hearing

September 3, 2020 by Joao Martins

Actively Smart True Wireless Earbuds: How to Augment Your Hearing

IFA 2020, in Berlin, Germany, was "the first major global fair for consumer and home electronics" to physically take place since the pandemic. This limited push to promote a trade show again, lead some major consumer electronics companies and brands to converge their announcements in the week from September 1-5, with showcases streamed to the world live from the Berlin exhibition grounds. Some announcements were relevant to the audio industry and included the Qualcomm press conference, which used the opportunity to launch its latest Adaptive ANC platform, an important step towards smart true wireless earbuds.

SoundID Expands Personal Sound Profiles to More Than 400 Headphone Models

August 18, 2020 by audioXpress Staff

SoundID Expands Personal Sound Profiles to More Than 400 Headphone Models

SoundID, the headphone correction software that combines target response calibration, personal hearing profiles and sound preferences, now supports 406 headphones with the addition of 20 new models. Originally launched by Sonarworks at CES 2020, SoundID allows consumers to maximize their listening experience with personalized sound on their favorite headphones, using a new simplified approach that combines software and machine learning to deliver personalized audio, regardless of device.

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