Tech designers may be missing out on a golden opportunity to apply
their EE knowledge to an industry that definitely needs some help.
When Apple bought Beats last year for $3 billion, it seemed a peculiar but ingenious move. Not only would Apple acquire the rights to Beats Music (which it has since parlayed into the Apple Music subscription service), but it would also acquire Beats headphones, the expensive sets that would soon become the heart's desire of middle-class white teenagers around the globe.
There's one problem: Beats headphones are an expensive kind of awful.
They're not the worst headphones on the market, but they certainly aren't the best; their marketing just makes it seem like they are. That means that other better options get cast aside. Even among better options, it seems that no company has nailed the perfect formula for fit, cost, and connectivity. So here's a look at what designers would need to consider if they want to overturn Beats' domination of a billion-dollar industry.
Design
At some point, walking around with Princess Leia soundbuns is going to get old. Especially if your life exists outside a subway car and you intend on ever encountering natural elements. Over-the-ear headsets generally get the best sound, but they're enormous. Sennheiser released a foldable design that's fairly economical, but the sound is lackluster. If you're going to design the perfect headset, make it compact enough to fit in a pocket, sturdy enough to withstand pressure, and practical enough to weather a rainstorm. If it's going to fit over the ear, make it inobtrusive. If it's going to be in the ear, make it bacteria-resistant and customizable enough to fit in the smallest or largest of ears.
And that brings us to another point: exercising is next to impossible with over-ear headphones. And yet, in-ear headphones suffer from the sound issue: there simply isn't enough space to fit the amount of technology needed to replicate a symphony orchestra. Wait a second--yes there is. And there's no reason that it can't get better. After all, if we now have the world's smallest chip, what's stopping designers from applying truly revolutionary technology to headphones?
Microphone
Why, for the love of Beyonce, don't all headphones comes with built-in microphones? This is 2015 and we're still expected to stop a workout if we want to answer a phonecall. Quite a few Bluetooth headphones have them, but they're not standard. One of the latest patents from Apple suggests the integration of noise cancellation for future earbud designs. It doesn't fix the current problems with fit and sound, but there's no reason designers couldn't integrate similar user experiences when designing a better headphone.
Safety
Chances are, the same customers listening to NWA on repeat aren't concerned about their hearing loss in 50 years, but they should be. Though phones and headphones have volume topouts, none of them deliver any information to the user about volume levels that could cause irreparable damage to the ears. According to the American Osteopathic Association, if you're listening to music at over 120 decibels, hearing loss can occur after only about an hour and fifteen minutes. They also say that 1 in 5 teens has hearing loss, up from 30% in the 90's and due mostly to headphone use.
So, not only could builders and designers improve sound in headphones, they could actually save the hearing of millions of Americans simply by using technology to decrease the damage caused by companies focused on more sound at any cost, not on quality sound that protects the wearer.
Connectivity
Wireless headsets were a long time coming, but now that they're here, no one's going back to wires. The difficulty is that Bluetooth connectivity (especially in Beats--another gripe) is laggy. It's fine for music, but trying to listen to a television show or YouTube clip may lead to frustration. Bluetooth is the connectivity standard at the moment (though not forever), so it needs to be bulletproof in headphone designs moving forward. That means ensuring there's no lag, no interference from other devices, and no difficulty pairing. It may also mean looking at different wireless connectivity options, but until smartphones catch up on that front, making a seamless Bluetooth experience would be enough.
Soundproofing
Remember when Bose headphones were all the rage (before Apple cast them aside for inferior yet flashier headphones)? One of the things Bose got right was noise cancellation. Even the best sound in the world is going to be overpowered by a jet engine, so noise cancellation is a must-have. But again, that brings about the over-ear/in-ear debate: over-ear headphones cancel noise better than in-ear, but no one wants to go running with a giant Bose headset on. If designers could come up with a hybrid that would allow for better noise cancellation, they'd hit the jackpot.
So there you have it: the perfect pair of headphones would need to look great, deliver phenomenal sound, have a built-in mic, be around $100, and protect the ears of the wearer. Sure, it's a difficult challenge, but a worthy one. And one that--if builders and designers nailed it--could dethrone Beats as the reigning kings of sound.
When Apple bought Beats last year for $3 billion, it seemed a peculiar but ingenious move. Not only would Apple acquire the rights to Beats Music (which it has since parlayed into the Apple Music subscription service), but it would also acquire Beats headphones, the expensive sets that would soon become the heart's desire of middle-class white teenagers around the globe.
There's one problem: Beats headphones are an expensive kind of awful.
They're not the worst headphones on the market, but they certainly aren't the best; their marketing just makes it seem like they are. That means that other better options get cast aside. Even among better options, it seems that no company has nailed the perfect formula for fit, cost, and connectivity. So here's a look at what designers would need to consider if they want to overturn Beats' domination of a billion-dollar industry.
Design
At some point, walking around with Princess Leia soundbuns is going to get old. Especially if your life exists outside a subway car and you intend on ever encountering natural elements. Over-the-ear headsets generally get the best sound, but they're enormous. Sennheiser released a foldable design that's fairly economical, but the sound is lackluster. If you're going to design the perfect headset, make it compact enough to fit in a pocket, sturdy enough to withstand pressure, and practical enough to weather a rainstorm. If it's going to fit over the ear, make it inobtrusive. If it's going to be in the ear, make it bacteria-resistant and customizable enough to fit in the smallest or largest of ears.
And that brings us to another point: exercising is next to impossible with over-ear headphones. And yet, in-ear headphones suffer from the sound issue: there simply isn't enough space to fit the amount of technology needed to replicate a symphony orchestra. Wait a second--yes there is. And there's no reason that it can't get better. After all, if we now have the world's smallest chip, what's stopping designers from applying truly revolutionary technology to headphones?
Microphone
Why, for the love of Beyonce, don't all headphones comes with built-in microphones? This is 2015 and we're still expected to stop a workout if we want to answer a phonecall. Quite a few Bluetooth headphones have them, but they're not standard. One of the latest patents from Apple suggests the integration of noise cancellation for future earbud designs. It doesn't fix the current problems with fit and sound, but there's no reason designers couldn't integrate similar user experiences when designing a better headphone.
Safety
Chances are, the same customers listening to NWA on repeat aren't concerned about their hearing loss in 50 years, but they should be. Though phones and headphones have volume topouts, none of them deliver any information to the user about volume levels that could cause irreparable damage to the ears. According to the American Osteopathic Association, if you're listening to music at over 120 decibels, hearing loss can occur after only about an hour and fifteen minutes. They also say that 1 in 5 teens has hearing loss, up from 30% in the 90's and due mostly to headphone use.
So, not only could builders and designers improve sound in headphones, they could actually save the hearing of millions of Americans simply by using technology to decrease the damage caused by companies focused on more sound at any cost, not on quality sound that protects the wearer.
Connectivity
Wireless headsets were a long time coming, but now that they're here, no one's going back to wires. The difficulty is that Bluetooth connectivity (especially in Beats--another gripe) is laggy. It's fine for music, but trying to listen to a television show or YouTube clip may lead to frustration. Bluetooth is the connectivity standard at the moment (though not forever), so it needs to be bulletproof in headphone designs moving forward. That means ensuring there's no lag, no interference from other devices, and no difficulty pairing. It may also mean looking at different wireless connectivity options, but until smartphones catch up on that front, making a seamless Bluetooth experience would be enough.
Soundproofing
Remember when Bose headphones were all the rage (before Apple cast them aside for inferior yet flashier headphones)? One of the things Bose got right was noise cancellation. Even the best sound in the world is going to be overpowered by a jet engine, so noise cancellation is a must-have. But again, that brings about the over-ear/in-ear debate: over-ear headphones cancel noise better than in-ear, but no one wants to go running with a giant Bose headset on. If designers could come up with a hybrid that would allow for better noise cancellation, they'd hit the jackpot.
So there you have it: the perfect pair of headphones would need to look great, deliver phenomenal sound, have a built-in mic, be around $100, and protect the ears of the wearer. Sure, it's a difficult challenge, but a worthy one. And one that--if builders and designers nailed it--could dethrone Beats as the reigning kings of sound.
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