Global audio consumer demand report: sound quality remains critical

Recently, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, recently released the "2019 Usage Status Survey Report". This annual report surveyed 6,000 smartphone users aged 16 to 64 from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, India and Germany. The report presents new insights into the evolution of global audio consumer user needs and highlights the key trends driving the development of the audio technology industry. Chris Havell, senior director of product marketing for Qualcomm's personal audio business, said at the Qualcomm Voice and Music Media Communication Conference that consumer audio is an exciting and rapidly developing field. Qualcomm's report pointed out that excellent sound quality remains critical to consumers, and most consumers believe that they can get sound quality comparable to wired through Bluetooth connections.

The most important factor driving consumers to buy audio equipment is rich and clear sound quality

The 2019 Global Consumer Audio Device Use Case and Purchasing Decision Drivers Insights Survey Report shows that thousands of consumers in six major markets around the world agree that given the long-standing pursuit of excellent sound quality, longer battery life, terminal-side gaming and voice user interfaces are influencing the way people interact with audio devices. Rich and clear sound quality is crucial and has been the most anticipated feature for consumers when choosing audio devices for four consecutive years.

The report presents an unprecedented evolution in the field of headphones and speakers. The audio world is at a turning point in the overall transition from wired to wireless, and is rapidly evolving towards the ultimate free experience brought by true wireless earbuds. The application of voice UI and cloud assistants is showing an explosive trend, new functions and use cases are constantly emerging, and the demand for sound quality and battery life remains strong. Smart speakers are expected to achieve rapid growth and diversification, which is likely to affect and promote the evolution of the entire wireless speaker category. These changes have created a lot of opportunities for audio ecosystem participants to use emerging use cases and new possibilities to shape a better audio future - more convenient, more personalized, more diverse, and more exciting.

Chris Havell, senior director of product marketing for Qualcomm's personal audio business, said that Qualcomm's customers are using Qualcomm's advanced technologies such as Qualcomm aptX audio, active noise reduction and excellent connectivity to support innovation in the above categories. Globally, consumers now want audio devices to not only support listening to music, but also provide more functions. This means that Qualcomm's customers not only need to create longer battery life and better sound quality for consumer audio products, but also integrate new features such as voice assistants, cellular connections and low-latency audio streaming.

The way consumers use headphones is also evolving

The way consumers use headphones is constantly evolving. They no longer just use headphones to listen to music, but also watch videos and movies, and obtain network content through online transmission. It can be seen that most Chinese consumers (64%) use headphones when watching various video content or playing games. About 34% of global respondents and 41% of Chinese respondents choose to use wireless headphones or wireless earbuds when playing games on mobile phones or tablets. Chris Havell said: "A very typical usage scenario is that when we commute or travel on public transportation, we also want to get some media content to help us pass the time, which actually generates more applications. Because if you just listen to music, users don’t need to use their eyes to see, but if you choose to listen and watch, the synchronization between listening and watching is extremely important."

As the number of scenarios increases, users have a stronger demand for low latency, which can ensure that audio and video content remain synchronized. In addition, Qualcomm expects a more stable connection, because with a stable connection, users can get more content through streaming. So when the headset is paired with a mobile phone using a Qualcomm chip, it also hopes to enjoy a higher bandwidth and a more stable connection to ensure that the content transmitted by the network can be obtained during the journey.

Chris Havell mentioned that this research report is a comprehensive study conducted in May 2019, which surveyed 6,000 smartphone users aged 16 to 64. The surveyed markets include the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and for the first time, Japan, India and Germany, which widely presents the current consumer attitudes and purchasing motivations in the field of consumer audio equipment. Chris Havell said that Qualcomm is very happy to be able to use this report to allow the industry to gain a deeper understanding of the current status and future trends of consumer audio products.

Five major industry trends in the development of audio equipment

1. Sound quality is crucial

For the fourth consecutive year, sound quality remains the top purchase driver across all consumer audio device categories, with 66% of respondents believing that the sound quality of wireless headphones and speakers has matched or even surpassed that of wired devices.

2. Longer battery life

Consumers place almost as much importance on battery life as on sound quality, highlighting the desire for greater portability, longer playtime and a move toward wireless devices.

3. Terminal-side games

The rapid growth of on-device gaming and its global adoption means that low-latency streaming and advanced connectivity are likely to become more important product differentiators.

4. True Wireless

True wireless earbuds have been a success, and in the future, this exciting and fast-growing field is likely to see many innovations, such as contextual awareness and real-time translation, that will help enhance and improve people’s lives.

5. Voice UI

Voice UI is developing rapidly despite concerns about security and privacy. Security and privacy features on the terminal side may be crucial for the next generation of smart audio devices.

Audio is an exciting field. Chris Havell, senior director of product marketing for Qualcomm Personal Audio Business, said: "I love this field and I enjoy using audio products in my daily work and life. In this field, we have seen many breakthrough innovations, especially in the field of personal audio. We have seen the continuous development of voice assistants, active noise reduction, and true wireless stereo technology. Both Chinese and global companies are bringing audio products that support innovative features to the market, hoping to give consumers more choices. In terms of innovation, we still have a lot of work to do, and Qualcomm is also looking forward to further helping partners to launch more and better products."