Cleer Audio Launches Smart Speakers, New Headphone Designs at CES

Cleer Audio, in an expansion of its portfolio, and a relocation from the Venetian suites to the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, unveiled a line of headphones and smart speakers at CES. Marketing Vice President Aaron Levine called the company's repositioning an “update to the existing brand” as the company moves from being a headphone brand to a “performance audio brand” that also offers smart speakers, smart displays and virtual reality. Notable among the new products were a cylindrical Alexa-based smart speaker, the 3.1-channel Mirage (Q3, $500), with a 7.8-inch flexible wraparound AMOLED display made by Royole. The Halo wireless neck speaker ($149, June) sits on the shoulders with upfiring speakers that send music up to the ears and not outward for others to hear, Levine told us. Halo is powered by the Qualcomm CSR8675 Bluetooth audio chipset with aptX, optimized for AAC support and Google Assistant voice control. Users have to press a button to engage the Assistant, he said. Other introductions included the Edge voice-controlled wireless heart rate monitor headphone ($169), based on the Qualcomm CSR8670 chipset, with Bluetooth 4.2 audio streaming, Google Assistant and cVc noise reduction technology, said the company. It also introduced the Flow II wireless noise-canceling headphone based on the CSR8675, saying the headphones provide "near-CD quality" audio streaming and 20-hour playback.