Music Moves Us and JBL Moves with You
IFA 2019, BERLIN - 05 SEPTEMBER 2019 – HARMAN International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, is delighted to announce that its JBL brand has reached the tremendous milestone of 100 million portable speakers shipped worldwide, cementing its position as the portable audio leader and category shaper. JBL pushes the boundaries of innovation, bringing music to life in ways that audiences everywhere can feel. Today, not only does JBL power the world’s most epic musicians, athletes, venues and automobiles, JBL is the market leader in portable speakers with 34.2% volume share.
“JBL has a well-earned reputation for pushing the boundaries of premium audio thanks to a truly passionate team of audio experts and product designers with a laser focus on the listener experience,” said Dave Rogers, President, HARMAN Lifestyle Audio Division. “JBL has proven time and again how much it cares about creating products that reflect its consumers’ needs. This extraordinary 100 Million milestone speaks volumes about the vision and capability of JBL’s engineers to meet those needs.”
“JBL is the market leader in portable speakers and has held that position for the past five years. Their innovations have shaped the category and more than doubled it from 27m units in 2014 to 65m units in 2018 while growing in value from $4.1bn to $6.4bn,” said Guy Hammett, Market Analyst at Futuresource.
Celebrating 100 Million Smiles
With each happy customer, JBL has a new reason to be proud. Knowing music delivers a tangible, positive effect on the lives of people around the world inspires JBL to reach higher, to dream bigger, and to push the boundaries of sound quality and product excellence further. With 100 million portable speakers shipped, JBL counts 100 million smiles brought to listeners through the power of music— a true reason to smile. Follow the campaign at #100MSmiles
Inspired by listeners
By paying close attention to the habits and lifestyle of its users, and focusing on the real-life scenarios when people needed audio, JBL created a range of products for different use cases. The JBL Flip portable speaker offered listeners something totally new: excellent sound quality in a compact format. The winning combination of small size and big sound made the Flip an overnight sensation, crushing the competition and shipping more than 1 million units within the first year. Clearly, JBL had struck a chord. Building on the success of the Flip, JBL developed six more portable speaker formats to address specific use cases such as hiking, picnicing, or going to the beach. After the Flip came the JBL Clip, JBL Charge, JBL Pulse, JBL Xtreme, JBL GO, and most recently the JBL Boombox. Since entering the category in 2012, JBL’s has released a total of 26 portable speakers’ models, each improved and fine-tuned to meet listeners’ specific needs.
Limited Edition Flip 5 ‘Ocean’ and ‘Forest’ made from recycled plastic
Taking a cue from listeners, the all new JBL Flip 5 features eco-friendly packaging, and its “Ocean” and “Forest” special editions are made with 90% recycled plastic material and come with a protective case made from biodegradable materials.
Innovation Puts JBL in the Lead
Exceeding customer expectations drives JBL’s product development and inspires innovation like waterproof IPX7, a high-capacity battery, and voice control. JBL’s engineers ask questions like ‘how to get more bass performance from a small enclosure’ and ‘how to adjust to the surrounding environment’. For example, JBL was the first to equip a Bluetooth speaker with a very special racetrack-shaped driver whose increased cone area delivers bigger sound. Normally reserved for soundbars, this feature appears in the JBL Charge 4 and Flip 5, and is a testament to JBL’s passion for acoustics. JBL also set a Guinness world record by connecting 1,000 JBL Flip 4’s playing music from a single source.
With more than 40 engineers working on every portable speaker, each new version is designed to reflect consumer preferences while remaining true to the character and quality that is JBL. Every generation offers its audience a better, bolder sound and improved user experience.
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ABOUT HARMAN
HARMAN (harman.com) designs and engineers connected products and solutions for automakers, consumers,and enterprises worldwide, including connected car systems, audio and visual products, enterprise automation solutions; and services supporting the Internet of Things. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson® and Revel®, HARMAN is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform around the world. More than 50 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and connected car systems. Our software services power billions of mobile devices and systems that are connected, integrated and secure across all platforms, from work and home to car and mobile. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 30,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. In March 2017, HARMAN became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Carole Campbell
Director, Lifestyle Communications
HARMAN
lifestyle.communications@harman.com