New Health and Home-Audio Innovations – Day 2 at CES 2022

One of the big topics of CES 2022 not yet covered in these newsletters is the increasing presence of health and health tech companies. The North Hall of the LVCC, previously the home of automotive at CES, is home to a wide range of companies promising to help improve consumers' health in a variety of different ways. Sleep tracking and improvement is a particularly common sight. This includes advanced sensor technology and auto cooling beds from SleepMe and Korean brand Asleep’s product which can detect breathing and respiration while sleeping via Wi-Fi alongside new products and innovations from brands such as Sleep Score Labs, Sleep Number, and QuietOn. One thing these brands have in common, and indeed a common theme across health technology, is that current and future innovations are increasingly depending far less on sensor and hardware innovation. Rather, the key factor why so many believe now is the time for Telehealth to really take off is the increased prevalence and sophistication of AI and machine learning algorithms. These algorithms can take consumers' data and offer tangible, usable, actionable insights based on the individual user, rather than simply store and report data back to the consumer. In turn, such devices become far more useful for consumers which further drives adoption and improves the accuracy and efficacy of the products. This phenomenon is the key reason why so many in the North Hall are optimistic that the next decade will bring about a Telehealth revolution, making all of us healthier and creating significant monetisation opportunities.

While yesterday focused on TWS headphones, which absolutely remain the star product of the audio world at the moment, CES 2022 has seen some interesting developments in the home audio space. The vinyl revival shows no signs of slowing down, with Cambridge Audio releasing two new Bluetooth turntables while Victrola has launched the world's first portable vinyl players. Remaining on the high-end audio theme, Korean vendor Astell & Kern have launched a combined headphone amp and digital music player targeted at audiophiles priced at $2100. Finally, B&W’s acquisition by Sound United has seen the US company looking to license out B&W’s brand recognition, with CES seeing Lenovo launch its new Yoga 9i (7th Gen) 2-in-1 laptop with built-in B&W sound while BMW’s new Theatre Screen in-car entertainment technology boasts over 30 B&W speakers.

To find out more about the latest CE tech trends to watch out for in 2022, including analyst insights on January's CES announcements, download our brand new Tech Perspectives here.

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About the author

Guy Hammett

Guy Hammett is a Senior Market Analyst in the Consumer Electronics team at Futuresource Consulting. Guy joined Futuresource in 2016 and has worked in a variety of different Consumer Electronics areas, both continuous tracking services and one-off custom projects, and has specialised in audio research for the last four years.

He currently heads up Futuresource Consulting’s quarterly Home Audio tracking reports and twice yearly market reports forecasting out to 2024 and regularly represents Futuresource at trade conferences across the globe.