ニュース

How popular are TWS earphones? Perhaps the answer can be found in the Huaqiangbei market. Currently, white-label TWS earphones are flourishing in Huaqiangbei, reminiscent of the era of counterfeit smartphones around 2010.

According to Counterpoint, global TWS earphone sales are expected to grow by 33% year-on-year in 2021, reaching 310 million units.

From Accessories to "Main Characters": The Smart Evolution of TWS

The shift of TWS earphones from "feature devices" to "smart devices" is an inevitable trend. Currently, the smart functions of TWS earphones primarily involve integration with smartphone voice assistants, allowing for simple operations like changing songs, making calls, and checking directions.

However, users' expectations for the smart capabilities of TWS earphones clearly go beyond this. They hope TWS earphones will not just be simple audio devices, but portable interactive tools. Features like hearing protection, danger detection, sound enhancement, one-touch emergency alerts, and smart hearing assistance are all being anticipated. This requires TWS earphones to possess independent perception, storage, and even computing capabilities.

Yet, looking at the current state of the industry chain, achieving smarter TWS earphones still faces numerous challenges. The fragmentation of the upstream and downstream supply chains, including chips, algorithms, debugging, structure, and mass production, results in long development cycles. Chip manufacturers often lack understanding of algorithms, failing to consider the needs of algorithm developers during chip design. This makes it difficult for algorithm companies to conduct secondary development based on existing chips, leading to high time and labor costs for embedding algorithms. Moreover, most domestic algorithm companies have limited capabilities, offering only a single algorithm that requires separate debugging and can only serve a few customers.

Traditional wireless Bluetooth earphones have minimal functions, with the main control Bluetooth chip's memory being sufficient for their needs. In contrast, TWS earphones have many functions, and features like noise cancellation, sound quality, and smart capabilities increase functional complexity. To store more firmware and algorithm programs, additional chips are often required, which complicates the internal space of TWS earphones, making them heavier. This necessitates deep cooperation between chip manufacturers and algorithm companies to meet the demands for smaller sizes and lower power consumption for complex algorithms.

Additionally, taking ANC as an example, the effectiveness of noise reduction is influenced not only by the chip but also by the design of the earphone cavity. Close collaboration among chip manufacturers, solution providers, and industrial design companies is essential to achieve better noise cancellation results.

It is clear that smarter TWS earphones will incorporate more chip sensors to support a range of imaginative features, further compressing their internal space. This requires deep integration across the TWS industry chain.

Integrated Development: AncSonic's Acoustic Moat

AncSonic, focused on the research and application of smart acoustic technology, recognized early on that deep integration is the path to smart development for TWS earphones. AncSonic has already taken action towards the next generation of smart TWS earphones.

On one hand, AncSonic has established the "Smart Acoustic Joint Laboratory" in collaboration with Purdue University and the Institute of Semiconductor Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This partnership aims to leverage both parties' resources to achieve intelligent chip applications in the acoustic field. The combination of industry, academia, and research will enhance AncSonic's existing algorithm capabilities, advancing technologies like ANC, ENC, spatial audio, and far-field pickup. The two sides will also collaborate at the chip level to comprehensively enhance AncSonic's sound processing capabilities.

At the same time, AncSonic has formed strategic partnerships with chip companies like ADI to adapt acoustic software algorithms and solutions at the foundational chip architecture level, seamlessly integrating algorithms with chips to create a kernel that drives the smart development of TWS earphones. This allows AncSonic to achieve higher reliability and lower costs, building an acoustic moat through technology.

On the other hand, AncSonic utilizes its experience and accumulation to develop a complete smart acoustic solution for TWS, covering everything from concept to product definition and mass production.

The development, design, assembly, and production of a TWS earphone involves a complex and specialized process, with each stage being crucial. AncSonic has accumulated expertise in every aspect, leveraging its advantages in algorithms, acoustics, testing, and fostering industry chain integration through strategic cooperation. This meticulous layout, combined with strong in-house product innovation capabilities and a complete industrial chain, strengthens AncSonic's acoustic moat.

As a TWS smart acoustic solution provider, promoting industry chain integration enables AncSonic to control every aspect of TWS manufacturing, offering clients more differentiated services and maximizing the quality of TWS finished products. This also means that as a leader in supply chain technology, as long as AncSonic continues to push for R&D innovation, it can actively update new technologies through upstream advantages, ultimately driving shifts in the entire TWS industry.

Building a commercial ecosystem for TWS earphones cannot rely solely on unilateral efforts; cooperation and alliances among multiple manufacturers are essential. In the future, AncSonic will continue to innovate through technological advancements and in-house product development while collaborating with more industry chain partners. By aligning with market trends, AncSonic aims to create a new and complete ecosystem for coordinated industry development, delivering better product experiences to users and unlocking greater commercial potential.