According to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, we can expect to see truly wireless earbuds like the Apple AirPods released by both Google and Amazon going into the second half of 2019. This was in a note seen by Business Insider written by Kuo himself.
“We believe that AirPods’ success has drawn Google and Amazon’s attention and these two companies will launch AirPod-alike products in [the second half of 2019],” Kuo wrote. “The combined shipments of two brands will likely reach 10-20 million units in [the second half of 2019]. We think that Google and Amazon are Apple’s main competitors because Google is the most influential brand in the Android ecosystem and Amazon has the best voice assistant service,” he continued.
The closest thing to wireless earphones from Amazon or Google that are made are the Pixel Buds, though those are connected to each other with a wire. What Kuo suggests is that these earphones will be entirely wireless, much like the AirPods. What’s interesting is that Amazon is also looking to get into the market, suggesting that we could possibly see Alexa-powered earphones in 2019. Kuo is widely respected for predicting Apple products before they launch.
Kuo believes that “more brand vendors are paying more attention to wireless earbud sales for near-term momentum improvements and long-term strategic movements while smartphone shipments are slowing.” This is why he sees it as vital that companies release wireless earbuds, and why he believes that Google and Amazon are going to release their own in 2019. In Google’s case, they would likely be the successor to the Pixel Buds, meaning that they would almost certainly feature Google Assistant support.
For what price they’ll be available, nobody knows. Given that the Pixel Buds retail at $160, we can only expect something similar or even higher if Google were to release truly wireless earbuds. The same may be true for Amazon’s offering, though they haven’t released a similar product in the past that we can base our expectations on. In a world where more and more smartphone manufacturers are removing the headphone jack, Bluetooth headphones and earphones are becoming essential. Companies like Xiaomi are already capitalizing, so it’s no surprise to see two of the biggest companies in technology get in on the action as well.
Source: Business Insider
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