The professional AV industry is undergoing rapid structural transformation, driven by the convergence of AV, IT, broadcast and content creation technologies. Insights shared by Futuresource Consulting ahead of ISE highlight how networked systems, rising expectations for production quality, and the growing role of AI are reshaping technology strategies and routes to market across the global AV ecosystem.

The professional AV and integrated systems industry is entering a period of accelerated transformation, driven by convergence across AV, IT, broadcast and enterprise technologies. Insights shared by Futuresource Consulting ahead of ISE underline how networking, AI and content creation are reshaping technology strategies, buying decisions and value creation across the ecosystem.

New end-user research from Futuresource Consulting reveals that home studio content creation is maintaining its mainstream behaviour, shaping demand across audio and production technology markets.

As the pro audio industry heads into NAMM 2026 and ISE 2026, professional headphones are emerging from a period of volatility into a more measured, opportunity-led phase. According to Futuresource Consulting’s newly released professional headphones report, the global market is stabilising after the pandemic boom, with growth now driven by specialisation, replacement cycles and a more professionalised creator base.

New findings from Futuresource Consulting’s Hearing Health Market Outlook report shows a global market being reshaped by consumer hearables, software-led features and inclusive connectivity standards. In 2026, hearing support is becoming part of daily listening, rather than a late-stage intervention.

As the pro audio industry begins 2026 and thoughts turn to ISE and NAMM, the professional loudspeaker market is moving beyond the recovery phase. That’s according to Futuresource Consulting’s newly released pro loudspeaker report, which estimates global market value of $3.3 billion for 2025. Moving forward, the research firm expects steady growth that will surpass $4 billion by 2029, and a future defined by long-term structural demand.

As the pro audio industry heads into NAMM 2026 and ISE 2026, professional headphones are emerging from a period of volatility into a more measured, opportunity-led phase. According to Futuresource Consulting’s newly released professional headphones report, the global market is stabilising after the pandemic boom, with growth now driven by specialisation, replacement cycles and a more professionalised creator base.

The global storage market is entering a more selective, strategically disciplined phase, as vendors reassess product portfolios, profitability and long-term demand signals. According to Futuresource Consulting, recent speculation around HDD supply, SKU rationalisation and capacity allocation reflects deeper structural shifts underway across the storage ecosystem.

OpenAI is expected to introduce its first proprietary hardware product in the second half of 2026, according to comments made this week by Chief Global Affairs Officer, Chris Lehane.  He described the forthcoming AI device as one of OpenAI’s most anticipated initiatives for the year but declined to provide details on form factor or functionality.