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BUYERS' GUIDE<br />
NOMADIC<br />
LIFESTYLE<br />
BROUGHT TO YOU BY<br />
HEADPHONES<br />
MARKET<br />
IN-EAR HEADPHONES<br />
In the first half year <strong>2019</strong>, in-ear<br />
headphones saw a sales value growth<br />
of 57% and accounted for 70%<br />
of the total headphone turnover.<br />
China by far is the largest market,<br />
followed by the Western European<br />
and Developed Asian countries.<br />
The regions Eastern Europe and<br />
Emerging Asia without China showed<br />
the highest growth rates of 76% and<br />
74% respectively. 70% of all wireless<br />
in-ear devices sold in 1H <strong>2019</strong> were<br />
true wireless. The global market<br />
for these headphones consisting<br />
of two separate ear pieces grew by<br />
almost 200% from 2018 to <strong>2019</strong>.<br />
Average sales price have dropped<br />
significantly to a current price of €85<br />
due to increased competition.<br />
OVER-EAR HEADPHONES<br />
In the first half year <strong>2019</strong>, over-ear<br />
headphones saw a stable sales value<br />
growth of 11% and accounted for<br />
around 29% of the total headphone<br />
turnover.<br />
These devices with Bluetooth to<br />
wirelessly connect the headphones<br />
to the music source witnessed<br />
considerable turnover growth and<br />
are becoming the standard, with a<br />
market share of close to 80% for<br />
over-ear headphones. The turnover<br />
with the devices featuring active<br />
noise cancelling, grew by 36% in the<br />
first half of <strong>2019</strong>.<br />
CONTACT<br />
Markus Kick<br />
Global Strategic Insights<br />
Consumer Electronics<br />
Markus.Kick@GfK.com<br />
THE FUTURE<br />
The headphone market is in full<br />
transition, moving away from<br />
traditional models connected by<br />
cable to mobile and hi-fi gear to<br />
high-tech wireless headphones<br />
that effortlessly stream from<br />
smartphones, televisions and other<br />
audio gear. Headphones also have<br />
a big part to play in burgeoning<br />
virtual reality applications,<br />
combined with head-related<br />
transfer functions (HRTF) which<br />
detect head movements and adapt<br />
sound playback so you can pinpoint<br />
the location of a sound source.<br />
STATE OF PLAY<br />
Headphones are probably the most popular way<br />
of listening to music, at home but especially on<br />
the move. It’s a market segment which continues<br />
to grow strongly, driven by impressive sales of inear<br />
headphones (which account for 70% of total<br />
INNOVATIONS TO LOOK FOR AT <strong>IFA</strong><br />
Noise-cancelling goes<br />
mainstream<br />
Most of our day-to-day<br />
environments today are<br />
characterised by one thing: a<br />
great deal of background noise.<br />
This is why noise-cancelling has<br />
become the go-to feature for<br />
most headphone users. It’s no<br />
longer a premium technology<br />
but is becoming a mainstream<br />
feature on increasingly cheaper<br />
headphones.<br />
Higher sound quality<br />
for truly wireless<br />
It’s only a few years since<br />
the first truly wireless inears<br />
– consisting of two<br />
separate earpieces – were<br />
introduced at <strong>IFA</strong>. Sales of<br />
these convenient products have<br />
grown immensely, and you no<br />
longer need to pay a top price<br />
to go totally cable-less. Expect<br />
a lot more totally wireless<br />
headphones at this year’s <strong>IFA</strong>,<br />
with premium models offering<br />
improved sound quality and<br />
extremely light housings.<br />
Our thanks to EISA member Jamie Biesemans for his input on<br />
this Buyers Guide<br />
INNOVATING @ <strong>IFA</strong><br />
MOMENTUM WIRELESS:<br />
A THIRD GENERATION<br />
OF PREMIUM SOUND<br />
Sennheiser’s premium headphone range<br />
enters its third generation, with the<br />
launch of the new MOMENTUM Wireless<br />
at <strong>IFA</strong> <strong>2019</strong>, offering superior sound, a<br />
modern design aesthetic, and cutting-edge<br />
technology. With genuine sheep leather<br />
and soft padding on the earpads and<br />
headband they are extremely comfortable.<br />
Active Noise Cancellation<br />
and a Transparent Hearing<br />
function allow listeners<br />
to either block out the<br />
world or stay aware of<br />
their environment.<br />
» HALL 1.2<br />
STAND 220<br />
headphone turnover), noise-cancelling products,<br />
and consumers’ appreciation of totally wireless<br />
models. People obviously love music, but not<br />
cables.<br />
Better codecs<br />
Whether most people know it<br />
or not, how music is compressed<br />
during transmission can have<br />
a big impact on sound quality.<br />
Headphone manufacturers<br />
didn’t always bother with better<br />
codecs, such as aptX, aptX HD<br />
and LDAC, as smartphones<br />
and tablets couldn’t utilise<br />
them. However, as aptX and<br />
LDAC have become standard<br />
components in Android<br />
and the codec support is<br />
ingrained in new Bluetooth<br />
c h i p s e t s , s u p p o r t i n g<br />
these better audio codecs<br />
suddenly makes sense.<br />
PHILIPS NEW NOISE-<br />
CANCELLING HEADPHONES<br />
Philips is introducing the PH805, its flagship<br />
wireless headphones. A key feature of the new<br />
product is its noise cancelling performance, which<br />
can cancel out up to 25dB or 95% of background<br />
noise. Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connectivity<br />
enables users to enjoy all of their music from their<br />
devices. Battery life is 30 hours; fast charging<br />
means a further two hours of playback can be<br />
available in five minutes. Philips said the PH805 is<br />
one of the lightest models in the over-ear wireless<br />
active noise cancellation sector, at 235g.<br />
» HALL 22 / STAND 101<br />
66
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