Analysis of market development opportunities and evaluation and prediction of consumption scale prospects for the global and Chinese electroacoustic industry

1. Overview of the overall development of the electroacoustic industry:
(1) Definition and classification of the electroacoustic industry: Electroacoustic technology is a technology that utilizes electronic technology, applied acoustics, and the principle of acoustic energy conversion as technical support to solve problems such as the generation, reception, transformation, processing, processing, recording, playback, and dissemination of audible sound. Modern electroacoustic technology includes sound to electricity technology, electric to sound technology, sound reinforcement technology, and related testing technologies, which are widely used in fields such as communication, computers, consumer electronics, automotive electronics, industrial environmental control, and medical treatment. According to the different product structures, the electroacoustic industry is divided into three categories: electroacoustic components, electroacoustic components, and terminal electroacoustic products, as shown in the following figure.
Terminal electroacoustic products are divided into consumer and professional terminal electroacoustic products. Professional terminal electroacoustic products mainly refer to industrial related electroacoustic products, such as car microphones, speakers, and sound systems installed in sports venues and theaters. Consumer terminal electroacoustic products are used to meet people's daily leisure and entertainment needs such as music, sports and fitness, esports and games, and can be used independently or paired with mobile phones Computer and other audio source equipment products, such as headphones, speaker products, etc.
(2) Overview of the Development of the Global Electroacoustic Industry:
1) The continuous growth of the global consumer electronics industry and technological innovation of products effectively promote the development of the electroacoustic industry: micro electroacoustic components and consumer terminal electroacoustic products are generally used together with consumer electronics such as smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc. The global consumer electronics industry is a huge market with a scale of nearly 700 billion dollars, and the economy in major developed countries and regions continues to recover Driven by advances in consumer electronics technology and strong market demand factors, the global consumer electronics industry is showing a sustained and stable development trend. In recent years, with the global popularity of mobile intelligent terminal products such as smartphones and tablets, it has also brought development opportunities for the electroacoustic market. New types of electronic devices such as micro microphones, micro speakers, wired headphones, wireless headphones, and wireless speakers have emerged
The shipment volume of sound components and terminal products is also continuously increasing, and the scale of the global electroacoustic industry is continuously increasing. The consumer electronics industry has the characteristics of fast technological upgrades and frequent product iterations, which have become the driving force for the industry's sustained and rapid development. The audio decoding, binaural connection, and other related functions of terminal electroacoustic products need to be paired with specific smartphone hardware. With the continuous application of 5G communication, Internet of Things, MEMS sensors, artificial intelligence and other technologies in consumer electronics, consumer electronics are rapidly updated, leading to technological breakthroughs in the fields of miniaturization, digitization, integration and modularization in the electroacoustic industry. The products and technologies in the global electroacoustic industry are developing rapidly, better satisfying consumers' higher level experience and pursuit of emerging technologies, and improving the added value of the electroacoustic industry, Provide new momentum for the long-term sustainable and healthy development of the industry.
2) The online audiovisual entertainment and gaming industry has stimulated the increase in consumer demand for audiovisual products: more immersive enjoyment of music, video, and gaming experiences is a major reason why people choose headphones. With the rapid development of global broadband and mobile networks, the demand for online audiovisual entertainment among consumers has grown rapidly. With the diversification of entertainment network terminals, mobile audiovisual entertainment has become more and more convenient, expanding the demand base for electroacoustic products and increasing the frequency and application scenarios of electroacoustic products for consumers. The digitalization of the online audiovisual industry has deepened, placing higher demands on the convenience, performance, appearance design, and quality of electroacoustic products. Deep users have a stronger demand for updating electroacoustic products. The in-depth development of digital content in program form, dissemination form, and content quality has also put forward higher requirements for the quality and functionality of electronic products such as headphones and speakers, promoting the continuous updating and upgrading of electronic products, laying a solid foundation for the continuous development of the electronic product market.
3) The upgrade of mobile phones with no holes and Bluetooth technology has boosted the booming development of wireless headphones: On September 8, 2016, Apple released AirPods at a new product launch, truly bringing TWS wireless headphones into the public eye. At the same time, Apple also released the first smart phone without headphone hole at the press conference. These two products are great innovations in the form of consumer electronics in the past, leading the later product form innovation. Currently, more and more Apple and Android mobile devices are canceling the headphone jack and merging it with the charging port. The trend of no hole in mobile phones has brought strong market demand for TWS earphones, and the maturity of TWS earphones has also provided impetus for the development of no hole in mobile phones.
At the same time, the iterative updates of Bluetooth technology have significantly improved the competitiveness of TWS headphones. Bluetooth 5.0 is a new generation of Bluetooth standard released by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group in London, UK in June 2016, and is the tenth standard version of Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth 5.0 significantly improves all-round performance. Compared to the Bluetooth 4.2 standard, it not only improves communication speed by 2 times, expands communication distance by 4 times, and increases communication capacity by 8 times, but also optimizes the underlying functions of the Internet of Things (IoT), providing a low-power and efficient solution for wireless communication in the Internet of Things. The introduction of chips that support Bluetooth 5.0 technology is conducive to solving the key delay, stability, and power consumption issues of TWS headphones. The biggest pain point of TWS technology lies in its connectivity. The faster and stronger transmission capability of Bluetooth 5.0 largely solves the problems of mobile phone connection stability, latency, and power consumption. Currently, Bluetooth 5.0 has been fully popularized in the mainstream smartphone market and can be compatible downwards. The upgrade of Bluetooth technology has significantly improved the market competitiveness of TWS headphones, further replacing traditional headphones.
4) Artificial intelligence technology promotes interactive intelligence in the electroacoustic industry: Artificial intelligence has brought new value to the industry. With the continuous maturity of artificial intelligence technology, the level of intelligence in the electroacoustic industry will gradually improve. Artificial intelligence mainly supports the development of electroacoustic technology from two aspects: calculation and analysis. "Computing" supports complex electroacoustic functions, such as sound source location and speech recognition, and is implemented in cloud platforms and Edge device. 'Analysis' includes more complex operations such as big data analysis for marketing and execution on cloud platforms.
After smartphones, smartwatches, smart bracelets, and smart glasses, headphones are entering the era of intelligence. The development of electroacoustic terminal products towards wireless is the first step towards independent intelligent terminals. After meeting the basic electroacoustic audio synchronization connection function, electroacoustic products have evolved from a single function to intelligence, gradually integrating intelligent functions such as active noise reduction, voice wake-up, hearing assistance, real-time translation, etc. on the basis of ear to ear connection. Through built-in chips and a series of sensors, the intelligence of headphones can be roughly divided into four categories: acoustic intelligence, voice intelligence, sports intelligence, and business intelligence. Acoustic intelligence refers to the intelligent connection, intelligent noise reduction, and intelligent sound mode adjustment of headphones achieved through the combination of Bluetooth protocol and various sensors; Speech intelligence uses microphone arrays and noise reduction and denoising technology to ensure clear pickup, and uses a speech analysis system to achieve intelligent optimization of human-computer interaction; Sports intelligence achieves health monitoring and voice guidance in sports scenarios by incorporating sensors and intelligent analysis systems; Business intelligence can achieve precise translation and solve cross lingual communication problems.
At present, the development trend of smart headphones has gradually become clear. Mobile phone manufacturers, audio brands, internet manufacturers, and e-commerce brands are working together, and smart headphones will continue to accelerate their penetration as new accessories for mobile phones. The core driving force for growth in the initial stage lies in the increase in mobile phone usage rate or household penetration rate, while the future growth momentum and development trend will come from the trend of endogenous varieties being multifunctional, scenario customization, and relative independence. Under the premise of controllable power consumption, it is expected to have built-in health monitoring sensors, translation and other functions, evolving towards versatility, customization, and independence.