Blink, and you’ll likely miss the release of a new Bluetooth headset, so frequently are these products popping onto the market.
Convenience, portability, sleek new styles and increasingly good sound quality are helping Bluetooth-enabled headsets and headphones gain ground on their wired counterparts. So much so, that the global market for these devices is expected to grow by more than $10 billion by 2019, posting a cumulative average growth rate of 18.65% from 2014-2019.
Everyone’s getting into the Bluetooth game
The Bluetooth headset market is packed with vendors, all offering products that cater to a range of consumers and lifestyles. Companies like yurbuds and Urbanears and going head to head with audio behemoths like Bose in a fight for consumer dollars.
However, the market is unarguably dominated by five major players: BlueAnt, Jabra, Jawbone, Plantronics, Sennheiser, and Sony.
Together, these five vendors account for 55-65% of the global Bluetooth headsets market revenue.
Bluetooth headset vendor spotlight
BlueAnt
BlueAnt Wireless manufactures and markets a range of rugged Bluetooth headsets, Bluetooth headsets, stereo headphones with remote control, hands-free Bluetooth car speakerphones, microphones, stereo Bluetooth streamers, and sense speakerphones.
In their own words:
At BlueAnt we know everyone is looking for their chance to shine, which is why we have developed the ultimate family of Sports Audio and Sports Lifestyle products.
Jabra
Jabra is a brand offered by GN Netcom, a subsidiary of GN Store Nord A/S (GN). Jabra manufactures and markets Bluetooth headsets, wired headsets, wireless office headsets, speakerphones, and other accessories designed for high performance in both the workplace and sport.
And Jabra’s products don’t just target the corporate world. Earlier this month, the company introduced its Steel Bluetooth headset—calling it the “toughest” one ever built—which is specifically aimed at consumers working in rugged environments.
Jawbone
While Jawbone is best known for their Up series of fitness trackers, the consumer tech company manufactures a range of wearable devices, and builds hardware products and software platforms powered by data science.
The company’s Era Bluetooth headset has been positioned by the company as the “smallest, lightest and most comfortable” headset they’ve ever created.
In their own words:
ERA’s HD audio delivers crystal clear sound for much more than just phone calls. Listen to music in the morning, catch up on podcasts while you catch up on chores, or ask Siri for advice when you’re cooking dinner. With every word or note, ERA is a revelation in how you listen, and talk, through a Bluetooth® headset.
Plantronics
Plantronics manufactures lightweight communication headsets, telephone headset systems, and other communication endpoints with accessories for the business, sport and lifestyle markets.
In their own words:
From the day two airline pilots working in a garage set out to invent a new kind of aviation headset until today, we have considered breakthroughs in audio technology as our daily business. We pioneered the lightweight headset, the mobile headset, noise-cancelling technology and the personal speakerphone, always driven by a single obsession: remove the barriers to simply smarter communications.
Sennheiser
Sennheiser is arguably one of the biggest names in audio technology. The company is engaged in the design, manufacture, and marketing of a wide range of headphones and headsets, cordless microphone systems, microphones (wired and wireless), aviation and audiology products, and conference and information systems.
With products ranging from about $150 to nearly $500, Sennheiser’s Bluetooth-enabled headsets and headphones certainly don’t come cheap. However, the company consistently performs well when it comes to sound quality—an area where Bluetooth devices have been known to be inconsistent.
Sony
Another huge name both within and beyond the Bluetooth headset sphere is Sony. Sony is engaged in the development, manufacture, design, and sale of a huge variety of electronic equipment, instruments, and devices for the consumer and professionals, as well as game consoles and software.
New and existing products from these six vendors are expected to have a significant impact on the growth of the global Bluetooth headset market over the next four years.
