Mobile Devices Transforming How Audio Is Streamed, Consumed, Says IHS

Mobile devices are reshaping the audio market, with smartphones and tablets expected to be 83 percent of all media-enabled CE device shipments by 2018, said an IHS report Thursday. The increasing popularity of Deezer, Pandora, Spotify and other streaming music services, plus a shift to on-the-go listening, is driving the increase in music consumption on smartphones and tablets, said IHS. Total connected audio devices in use -- soundbars, wireless speakers, AV receivers and headphones -- are expected to reach 267 million units by the end of 2018, up from 58 million units in 2014, IHS said. “With the shift to an Android-dominated mobile-device market, audio manufacturers are steadily moving away from the wired-only and Apple-only connections of old, in favor of wireless connectivity as an agnostic and consumer-friendly way to connect their products to tablets and smartphones,” said Paul Erickson, IHS senior analyst. While Bluetooth speakers and headphones have become ubiquitous, the number of Wi-Fi-based, network-connected multiroom speakers has grown, with Sonos continuing to lead that market, said Erickson. “Smartphones and tablets have fundamentally changed modern consumers’ everyday lives, including the way people buy and consume audio content,” he said. “We will soon live in a world where mobile devices are the primary way consumers listen to music -- not only on the go, but also in the home."