Smart speakers, streaming, 5G and HD/Ultra HD to drive the market

When it comes to speakers; mini, wireless and Bluetooth are the main features that customers look for. Add to that battery life. This is rapidly leading to more advancements in this space.

For Audio, the core has always been around sound engineering. Demand for HD and Ultra HD sound quality is driving market growth. We are expecting an increased investments in India-centered R&D units and local manufacturing opportunities to suit local preferences better.

The rising tendency of increasing expenditures on global festivals and music concerts is expected to propel the requirement for professional audio equipment. This will be a critical demand to fulfil for major Audio Equipment OEMs. Apart from this, Automotive application is also expected to grow exponentially.

Current Audio Tech/Trends

The Indian audio technology market is growing at a phenomenal speed and with the growing market grows the demand for products which has increased the competition in the market. Every brand is working to come up with the best, as the Indian population is getting more and more affluent and are demanding products which are not only of high quality but also trendy, stylish and affordable.

The key trends in the audio technology industry are:

•The market is rapidly developing to provide affordable 5G cellular network connections. The significant increase in the number of connected devices and the rate of data consumption has made wireless connectivity significantly common. This has propelled the development and demand of Wi-Fi speakers with AI integration and voice assistants.

•The demand of Smart speakers is also growing in the market attributed to the rising 5G networks and an increasing number of connected devices. The smart speaker market is expected to expand further with developed countries following the trend of smart homes and emerging nations' shift towards the adoption of smart homes.

•As tech fans all over the world are freeing themselves from wires for good without sacrificing elements that traditionally have only been available with premium wired devices. Consumers are quickly moving to TWS, leading to growth of earphones making the segment dominant in the market. As the category is developing rapidly consumers can expect advancements in this segment such as: Audio quality, noise cancellation, connectivity, battery life, and the price is also expected to be much more in sync with what consumers are looking for.

•AI, Wireless tech and audio tech have a significant impact on how consumers discover, listen to, and enjoy music. The way people listen to music has seen acomplete overhaul in the last few years. The concept of storing music in your devices is no longer relevant, with the emergence of  music streaming apps like Spotify, Apple Music, Wynk, etc, increasing the portability of music.

Ajay Mehta, MD, Aiwa India Pvt. Ltd.

Voice Command was touted to be a big leap 2-3 years ago, but it has not created the sort of impact it was expected to have in the way consumers interact with the product. The adoption rate is very low, and it may take time for this to pick up. However, having voice command enabled in devices has become a standard.

Impact of Smart Speakers on the audio industry

One of the key drivers of the increase of smart speaker usage and ownership is the rising demand for smart home devices. This is especially true for the younger generation, which has an almost innate preference for technological items that offer several functions.

Experts predict that smart speakers might not only drive the growth of subscriptions, but will also make music and audio in general, all pervasive. Even now, it is common for people to have a “cooking playlist” or a “driving playlist.” Smart speakers present the perfect platform for using these customised playlists.

Industry leaders are also divided on the effect that smart speakers will have on the sales of physical music. On one hand, it is expected that these gadgets will completely replace CDs and traditional music players.

On the other hand, marketing experts take into account the listening data from smart speakers. For example, if the smart speaker of Amazon or Apple collects data about a person listening to one particular artist more than others, it can suggest a purchase of a physical record, or notify them about a live concert for which tickets are available.

Though users might not be happy with the constant suggestions to buy physical products, it is a likely scenario, given the prevalence of advertisements.

Smart speakers will serve as a platform for novel music discovery and consumption experiences, thus it is generally safe to predict that their growth will continue to accelerate.

Aashish Kumbhat, Co-Founder and Director, Inbase

It is estimated that smart speakers will be the key driver in the next few years as many brands are working on integrating smart features of Google assistant in their Bluetooth speakers. It allows the user to relay spoken commands and communicate with other devices, which is a key factor for the growth of the market.

What's next?

DTS:X and Dolby Atmos are both object-based audio technologies. Object-based audio technology treats each sound as a distinct object as opposed to conventional audio mixing, which allocates each sound to a single speaker on a 2D plane. Dolby Atmos is the most common name when it comes to audio tech systems. But brands like Analog Devices, IMAX, Ballantyne Strong, Xperi and Cirrus Logic are also steadily rising as leaders in the sound system field.

Taking a closer look, since DTS:X has no official speaker specifications, you can configure your speakers however you want as long as they are compatible. But DTS Play-Fi, for instance, can be helpful if you want to link unrelated audio kits around numerous rooms to create the impression of multiple rooms. It is a wireless audio platform that is licensed to hi-fi brands and may be used to wirelessly connect equipment made by various manufacturers. This implies that you don't have to buy all of your audio gear from a single vendor.

After DTS:X and Dolby Atmos, it is difficult to determine the best alternative due to the various features offered by competitors. The ideal listening experience for audiophiles, however, can be achieved by mixing multiple systems, especially as cross-brand connections become increasingly straightforward.

Meet Vij, Co-founder, Lyne

TWS and Sound Isolating Microphones have gained traction, especially in the professional environment. Thanks to features like long battery life, increased mobility and convenience. Both speakers and “in and over the ear” listening devices have seen a surge in popularity and demand to provide a high quality listening experience.

Future of Audio

The future of audio is something that is open to discussion and change. As most of the debate tends to lean toward the streaming side of it—the quality, ease and range of discoverability of music and podcasts—most people tend to be unaware of the resurgence of vinyl records and cassettes. Further to that, a lot of times, “audio” tends to be synonymous with the music industry, when in reality, the “hardware” side of audio is also seeing new technologies everyday.

As for upcoming trends, we can expect to see podcasts becoming more popular. With more streaming platforms adding podcast sections, it is only expected that the number of podcasts will also see a spike, as it is an effective way to reach a wider audience.

Audio tech is also swiftly seeing new innovations. Using AI, for example, both hardware and software will become more efficient, smaller in size, and better with features. New tech is now allowing budding audio engineers to design their own sound systems, which is leading to network control being available to all.

Overall, the future of audio seems bright, or rather loud, with experts predicting that we are entering a “post-screen” future.