Three-Fourths of Hearables Will Have Voice Assistants by 2022, Says Juniper

More than 271 million audio-centric hearables will be in use by 2022, up from an estimated 62 million this year, with voice assistants and touch sensors among leading interface technologies, Juniper Research reported Wednesday. Audio-focused hearables will be more than half of all wireless headphones in use by 2022, 80 percent in the U.S. Apple’s AirPods, at an estimated 24 million shipments this year, lead the market, and the overall hearables market, including fitness-focused and hearing augmentation devices, is estimated to reach 417 devices in market by 2022. More than 75 percent of hearables in use will incorporate voice assistants by 2022, said the researcher. "In some cases, voice assistants will be the only ‘hearable’ feature of these devices," said analyst James Moar, saying premium manufacturers will need to provide other features -- advanced audio adjustments or innovative interfaces -- for market differentiation. Fitness hearables with custom voice assistants will be 10 percent of hearables in use by 2022, he said. Assistive hearables for the medical market will generate over $40 billion annually by 2022, said Juniper.