Among the latest technological breakthroughs with enormous potential to improve our everyday lives is voice-enabled technology. Digital Assistants and Voice-Controlled speakers (VC speakers) are harnessing the power of voice, enabling users to command their environment, find answers to their questions, ask for directions, dictate emails, dial contacts, stream music and audio, and save that most precious and fleeting of resources: time.
But that’s not all. According to a recent study* commissioned by HARMAN, the benefits of voice-enabled technology are as abundant as they are far-reaching: VC speakers are facilitating the modern lifestyle, improving productivity, enhancing well-being, bringing families closer together, and, ultimately, creating a higher quality of life for users of all ages:
- VC speakers save people time—a lot of time. One fifth of VC speaker users in the US report saving more than one hour per day thanks to efficiency-improving apps that help accomplish daily tasks. And with users choosing to spend their new-found free time primarily with their families and friends, VC speakers are connecting people to the ones they love.
- Voice-Controlled speakers bring more fun, enjoyment, and leisure to people’s everyday lives, particularly by providing them with easily-accessible, high quality music to accompany them. While listening to music is the most popular use of VC speakers; mental stimulation is a key benefit for 25% of users, and another 25% report increased motivation to exercise. VC speakers bring a heightened sense of well-being while fighting boredom and loneliness—an especially significant benefit for the elderly or the isolated.
- People are also discovering a new sense of control over their living environment, as VC speakers enable them to obtain an increasingly wide variety of services and assistance through voice alone. From hearing the day’s top news stories to dictating email to commanding smart home appliances, Voice-Controlled speakers are bringing new meaning to the term voice control. In fact, VC speakers are so convenient and effective at increasing users’ quality of life that for many households these devices have become indispensable. Users are overwhelmingly satisfied with their speakers and a full 40% have purchased additional ones.
Powerful Partnerships
Voice-Controlled devices are expected to grow to an overall market value exceeding $7 billion by 2024, and HARMAN is leading the way with a solution for every platform and every need. By joining the innovative firepower of strategic partners like Amazon, Google and Microsoft with a clear passion and purpose to design and deliver features and benefits not found anywhere else in the market today, HARMAN delivers the highest quality audio, voice recognition, and forward-thinking design solutions on the market through a variety of different Voice Controlled speakers and headphones.
Premium Sound and Design for Everyone
Music streaming is the most popular use of Digital Assistants and HARMAN is perfectly poised to deliver the premium sound that is missing in the market today with our selection of Voice-Controlled speakers and headphones from JBL and Harman Kardon. Customers want premium audio and design performance in their preferred platform or ecosystem and with more than 70 years of audio and innovation expertise, HARMAN is here to deliver.
HARMAN’s Voice Activated Speaker Lineup
JBL® and Google Assistant
The recently-launched JBL LINK series merges JBL’s Signature Sound and Google’s Voice Assistant technology to provide an elevated music experience, best-in class sound quality, and endless entertainment from the most popular music and entertainment apps, all through hands- free voice commands. JBL LINK comes in four different models from battery-operated, waterproof portable units to the home-size JBL LINK 500 model, all delivering legendary JBL sound.
Now, the listening experience is going a step further with the all-new JBL LINK View, the first smart speaker to incorporate Google Assistant alongside visual display.
Featuring an 8” high-definition touch screen and 5-megapixel front-facing camera framed by two front-firing stereo speakers and a rear-facing passive radiator, the JBL LINK View is ideal for anyone who consumes a large amount of content on a regular basis. In addition to its excellent sound quality, the device is made with premium materials that easily wipe clean and has a small footprint to take up minimal surface space. Users can set it up in the kitchen to follow a recipe, video call with friends in the living room, scroll through vacation photos, or connect the device to other LINK speakers for a multi-room listening experience, all through the sound of their voice.
For an on the go experience, JBL is introducing its all new line of JBL Everest series Bluetooth headphones featuring Google Assistant built in. The JBL Everest GA series of headphones gives people full control of their music experience using voice and receiving notifications without using a phone. The series includes in-ear, on-ear and over the ear models.
Harman Kardon Allure and Amazon Alexa
Bringing together Harman Kardon’s sophisticated and stunning sound and Alexa’s voice service, Harman Kardon Allure gives music lovers a rich, captivating listening experience. Allure comes in a desktop size and all new portable unit; both fill the room with beautiful sound. They feature Far-field voice technology that allows users to issue commands from across the room, whether at home, in a hotel or at the office, and still be heard clearly by the speaker.
Harman Kardon Invoke™ and Cortana from Microsoft
Combining Harman Kardon’s rich audio heritage with Cortana’s intelligence including Skype integration, Invoke is for busy people balancing the competing demands of work and home. This sophisticated device is perfect for those who want to make the most of every moment of the day.
Featuring proprietary 360-degree adaptive microphone technology that recognizes all details of voice commands from any direction, Invoke can hear commands clearly, even in challenging environments.
HARMAN’s pioneering Voice-Controlled speakers will be on display at CES 2018 at our showcase in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
*Source: Futuresource 2017