Hearables in 2023: Comfort Must Come First

Predicting what trends we’ll see in hearables in 2023 seems like a fool’s errand. With the release of the OTC hearing aid rule in the United States, these are predicated on devices that can be comfortably worn for long stretches of the day in a form factor that people are willing to wear in social settings. Without that foundation, these interesting and useful applications will not achieve mass-adoption. Anticipating CES 2023, Andrew Bellavia looks for the Next Big Thing in Hearables and the Multiple Sides of Comfort.

Multiple perspectives to inspire you in the new year. A Market Update on Bone Conduction Transducers, an article on the development of the Taction Transporter haptic transducer, and a valuable article by Hans W. Gierlich explaining an effective approach for testing structure-borne sound applied to in-ear developments. Andrew Bellavia writes about why the FDA’s OTC hearing aid rule could be quickly obsolete, Adam Levenson introduces the new Audio Foundry automotive audio development platform, and René Christensen makes its debut with audioXpress, writing about simulation techniques

Expanding the perspective on the evolution toward hearables, this article explores the current trends as well as the acoustical challenges and solutions for designing true wireless earphones. The article explains the enabling technologies currently converging as the TWS market continues to grow and use cases multiply, with more consumers using wireless earbuds for a diverse and varied set of applications, from listening to podcasts and audiobooks to Internet meetings and interacting with voice assistants. This article was originally published in audioXpress, April 2022.

The April 2022 issue of audioXpress offers an overview of voice for true wireless stereo earbuds with contributed articles from Knowles and Fluent.ai. Stuart Yaniger reviews the possibilities with GaN amplifiers, and Steve Temme explains the evolution of Rub & Buzz measurements and the latest perceptual algorithms. Ethan Winer designs a sample & hold circuit for a guitar-controlled, all-analog synthesizer project, Richard Honeycutt explores the meaning of “frequency response” as applied to rooms, and Mark Driedger explains why and how to test tubes.