Entertainment, communication, and smart homes have all evolved beyond requiring typing on a keyboard or sitting near PC speakers. Wearable and hearables have extended a broad range of audible activities further towards a more personal convenience. However, active usage of any wearables or hearables has varied considerably across market segments. While Bluetooth headphones are widespread, VR headsets persist as niche products among a younger, more affluent, and tech-savvy segment. Smart speakers, in contrast, are showing signs of having peaked after rising in use among a middle market.
This TUP Highlights report includes the following sections: wearables penetration, hearables penetration, wearable devices used, trends in wearables and hearables, purchase plans for wearables, listening activities, penetration of voice assistant usage, the profile of voice assistant users, the profile of hearables users, and the profile of wearables users.
Highlights: Consumer Electronics
Hearables are having a tumultuous time during the pandemic, and users adapt to shifting situations. Webcams are a significant force, as are wireless Bluetooth headsets, both pivotal for users working or schooling from home. Meanwhile, voice-enabled speakers have reached a plateau, reaching their largest share among neither the youngest nor oldest adults. Smartwatches have made inroads across nearly all age groups, especially younger employed adults.
This TUP Highlights report includes the following sections: purchase plans for wearables, hearables penetration, wearables penetration, trends in consumer electronics, the profile of hearables users, the profile of wearables users, the profile of key consumer electronics users, and device activities compared to consumer electronics.
Wearables penetration by country
Wearables have moved into the mainstream, reaching the wrists and ears of half of Americans. Penetration rates are not as high among online adults in Germany, the UK, or Japan. Also, smartwatches are not universally adopted. This MetaFAQs reports on the penetration rate of Bluetooth headsets, smartwatches, and electronic activity trackers among online adults by country.
Headsets – our sound islands [TUPdate]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts – December 10, 2020
Wireless Bluetooth headsets get a booster
Wireless Bluetooth headsets have been in the news lately, widely promoted as a year-end gift accessory. As a category, they have been available for decades, so why the latest emphasis, and is there enough demand for them?
Market demand has gotten stronger during 2020 in large part due to changed playing and working conditions. With the pandemic and stay-at-home restrictions worldwide, many people are now nearby a distinct set of people than they might interact with at their workplace or school. While quarantines can be a bonding experience, there can be added pressure when the sounds we make or listen to impinge on others.
Listening widespread, although differs by device type
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or perhaps the ear. The music some may consider beautiful may seem like noise to others. Similarly, the phone call we may think thoughtful may sound to others like distracting chatter.
Wireless Bluetooth headsets by smartphone operating system [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, December 8, 2020 Who uses wireless Bluetooth headsets more – iPhone users or Android smartphone users? This MetaFAQs reports on the relative popularity between the two ecosystems, as well as splitting out whether in-ear or over-the-ear designs are used more than the other. About MetaFAQs MetaFAQs are answers to frequently…
Generation gap amplified by headsets [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, December 4, 2020 Are younger adults different than older adults in using wireless Bluetooth headsets? For millennia, humans have experienced a generation gap, both younger and older ones pondering why different-aged others don’t hear what they have to say. Current technology – especially Bluetooth wireless headsets – may make the…
Wireless Bluetooth headsets by country [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, December 1, 2020 Wireless Bluetooth headsets have become a handy accessory for roughly one in four online adults in the US, Germany, UK, and Japan. More users are choosing in-ear designs than over-the-year types. This research is based on surveys with 12,516 online adults in the US, Germany, UK, and…
How prevalent are listening activities? [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, November 8, 2020 How prevalent or ubiquitous are listening activities? Are all smartphones, PCs, and tablets being used for some type of listening activity – music, TV, movies, phone calls, or video calls? This MetaFAQ reports on the percent of online adults who regularly do some type of listening activity,…