“Can you hear me?” How often have you heard that? How about: “Can your mute your phone? Too much background noise.”
Hearable technology is most often associated with earphones used primarily for entertainment and communications. But beyond better sound acoustics, noise cancelling technology and microphone technology, the real innovation may lie in applications like health.
IDC says the proliferation of watches, ear-worn devices, wristbands will drive the broad category to 279 million devices by end of 2023, with an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9%. The analyst pegs year-on-year growth at 15.3% with 2019 expecting to see 198.5 million units shipped.
Ramon Llamas, IDC research director for wearables says the healthcare and enterprise sectors are two major drivers for the growth in wearables, including hearables.
He cites benefits like the ability to constantly collect patient data and provide them with the ability to self-monitor. In the enterprise, wearables help employees to communicate and work more efficiently.
FutureIoT spoke to Kow Ping, Director and Founder of Hong Kong startup, Well Being Digital (WBD) spoke about the challenges of being in the hearable space. Despite the challenges, he felt very comfortable in the opportunities presented by the market, and the innovations the company is introducing to consumers and business partners.
