Harman Refreshes Best-Selling Portable Speaker Designs with Massive Improvements

A few weeks past since the IFA 2020 announcements, where most global consumer electronics companies found a stage to introduce some of its key products for the forthcoming months, it becomes interesting to look closer at some of the key announcements in audio. Harman chose to unveil the new JBL Xtreme 3, JBL Go 3 and JBL Clip 4 portable speakers, all now featuring new more robust designs and strong color palettes in tune with a world still shaken by a global pandemic.

A major highlight of Panasonic's press conference at IFA 2018, the Technics OTTAVA S SC-C50 compact wireless speaker introduced a new premium design, with state-of-the-art connectivity and a powerful, refined sound. Two years later, at the hybrid IFA 2020 event in Berlin, Technics unveiled its new Premium Class OTTAVA f SC-C70MK2 all-in-one music system. This new model is an effort to refining the sound quality, function and design of the preceding SC-C70, introduced in 2019. This shows a strong determination from Panasonic towards the category.

During the hybrid IFA 2020 event, TCL introduced a new pair of true wireless earbuds featuring all the advanced technologies that buyers now expect, but priced at under $100. Directly targeting users of Android smartphones and tablets, including TCL's own multiple devices, the MoveAudio S200 will look familiar to the intended market, first and foremost because they use a form-factor very close to the AirPods, but also because they look exactly like similar recent products from Vivo, OneOther, MeeToo and countless others.

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.

Qualcomm Technologies International, a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, launched Qualcomm Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) a new technology designed to deliver an improved user experience for earbuds with integrated ANC. The Adaptive ANC technology is designed to enhance user comfort and provide consistent sound quality for true wireless earbuds by adapting its performance to meet variations in how an earbud fits in a user’s ear, and adapt in real-time to changes in fit as the earbuds are in use.

Technics unveiled the SU-R1000, its first Reference Class integrated amplifier. As Technics explains, its Reference Class products are developed in pursue of the brand's insatiable desire to deliver ultimate sound quality to customers, and offer the premium musical experience the Technics brand is known for. The SU-R1000 follows design references of the classic hifi components from decades ago. But inside, this is a technical evolution of the brand's 2014 rebirth.

With the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic effects, in the same way as many retailers' business and entire distribution models have been disrupted, consumer behavior changes are also affecting the manufacturers' calendars in general. The industry is no longer depending on massive industry events that in the past have determined important product launch and promotion cycles.

Event and trade show promoters still have a business - and it has nothing to do with media, content, or education. They are not supposed to try and do what companies should do themselves, much less become a sort of "closed-circuit broadcaster," social media booster, or podcast promoter. Talking to a closed circuit is exactly the reason why companies need a trade show: to break the loop. That is also the reason why companies need media - to amplify their messages and reach new buyers and markets.