Since entering 2018, the most popular on the market is undoubtedly the oem earbuds TWS Bluetooth earbuds. What is a TWS earbuds? What are the advantages and disadvantages of TWS earbuds? Today I will give you a detailed explanation.

TWS is the abbreviation of True Wireless Stereo in English, which means true wireless stereo. TWS technology is also based on the development of Bluetooth chip technology. According to its working principle, it means that the mobile phone is connected to the main earphone, and then the main headset is quickly connected to the secondary earphone in a wireless manner, so as to realize the true wireless separation of the left and right channels of Bluetooth. When the slave speaker is not connected, the main speaker returns to monaural sound quality. TWS technology has been applied to the field of Bluetooth headsets, so a new product-TWS Bluetooth earbuds was born.

To trace its development process, we have to start with Apple. In 2017, the removal of the 3.5mm jack on iPhone 7 led to the rapid development of the Bluetooth headset market. Of course, Bluetooth headset technology and products have also been developed for many years, and the products and quality are also uneven, and the industry is chaotic. Until Apple took the lead in releasing the world's first TWS Bluetooth headset AirPods, this product supports the connection of many of Apple's ecological products (Iphone, Ipad, iwatch, Macbook), wireless headset built-in optical sensor and accelerometer. Double-click this wireless headset to connect to Siri. During the user's call, this headset can also reduce noise and filter noise to ensure sound quality. At the same time, the field of AI at home and abroad is booming. With the help of AI, TWS technology rides the express train of the "smart" era. Since then, Bluetooth headsets have given new vitality.

TWS has those characteristics:

1. True wireless can achieve single and double ear wearing

The TWS Bluetooth earbuds does not require a wired connection, and gets rid of the shackles of traditional earbuds. The two left and right headsets form a stereo system through Bluetooth, which improves listening, talking, and wearing. If you add professional acoustic pickup technology, intelligent noise reduction technology & AI algorithm noise reduction technology, you can achieve a perfect sound experience: ear-worn voice, video calls, music enjoyment, mountain climbing, safe driving, etc. are not restricted ；

2. Intelligent noise reduction function

From the product point of view, the noise reduction function is an essential technology. Audio and video experience is the focus of users’ attention on TWS earbuds. We can design product application scenarios, but we cannot guarantee that users will always apply your product in the scenarios you design. When we dig deeper into certain products in the industry , I found that many users complain that outdoor noise reduction is too bad, such as a certain Sony product has been complained; Aola BES50XS series in overseas and airports, can not hear the sound transmitted to us in the headphones, we are actually testing QCY when getting on and off the subway Direct breakpoints, these poor user experience make the product greatly discounted. Currently in China.

3. semi-intelligence & intelligence

In the era of crazy development in 2018, the TWS earbuds has experienced the road of semi-smart headsetization. Take the smart TWS Bluetooth headset represented by asking questions as an example. It is not only a hardware product, but also carries in-depth content in the APP. Immediately transformed into a smart interactive smart product; the same more Bluetooth chip manufacturers have been upgraded on version 5.0, embedded serial flash memory, can more flexibly upgrade customer software, support third-party software migration; cooperate with The original ecology or content provider (audio content, headline news, health information, financial news, sports information, etc.) opens its ports, and in fact there is a lot to do in the content. The mainstream first-line gods have been involved in the field of artificial intelligence, and they are all building their own intelligent ecological chain. Foreign countries take Microsoft, Google, and Amazon as examples to extend Microsoft Cortana, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa wireless intelligent voice interaction services. Behind it is a The battle for smart end users. The representative of the new generation is tenwin's TW series products. Behind it is a professional acoustic team doing the most advanced acoustic research and development in the industry. Of course, APP supports the ecological content involved above.

Similarly, domestic hardware manufacturers, represented by mobile phone manufacturers, support their voice assistants. Huawei's TWS supports Xiaoyi in their mobile phones, and Xiaomi TWS supports Xiaoai students. This aspect is particularly important. The era of intelligence has come, and pure hardware is more important. Most of them are labels that advertise low-end products, because no one wants to spend the same money to buy a cheap hardware product.

Why is OEM EarbudsTWS so popular?

Let me first talk about the market of wired headset. According to industry statistics and professional market research institutions, the market for wired earphones is over 100 billion U.S. dollars every year! With the support of TWS technology, you can completely say goodbye to all kinds of cut and unclear wired earphones-when you enjoy music, not only between the media source and the earphones, but also between the left and right earplugs. No cables required! The embarrassment brought by the earphone cable over the years is finally becoming history. And the author believes that with the upgrading and updating of TWS technology, there will be greater breakthroughs in the field of acoustic noise reduction, and once the volume of the entire TWS industry breaks through, the cost of chips and solutions will drop. Now the lowest-end TWS on the market The overall plan cost is about 60 yuan (according to the most rubbish plan, the cost is there, so most of the dozens, twos, and threes of TWS are castrated or fake). It is expected that in the next two to three years, TWS earbuds will become the standard equipment shipped by mobile phone hardware manufacturers.

What are the drawbacks of TWS at this stage?

According to the actual measurement of TWS headsets of mid-to-high-end domestic and foreign brands bought back in the market, the author also looks at the data reported by mainstream e-commerce companies at home and abroad, which are roughly as follows:

1. The battery life issue is the top of all issues. Why? Because of the size of a single ear-considering the ergonomic design behind the ear, most TWS headphones are compact-in-ear or semi-in-ear; according to statistics The battery capacity of a single ear is between 25-60mAh, the maximum battery life-after single & dual earplugs are fully charged, the longest single use time is no more than 3 hours-and it is not a domestic brand (we are doing market research and analysis When I saw how many unscrupulous merchants advertised the battery life as 3-7 hours, you don’t look at how much power your own single ear has. You can ask again, it can be achieved with the charging compartment. Rogues often play word games. According to the new "Advertising Law" and "E-commerce Law", users can directly complain or use falsely advertised products and claim 3 times.) Of course, I believe that the follow-up will definitely do better. The premise is a breakthrough in battery technology and a breakthrough in ergonomic design. Of course, there is another shortcut, which is to make a fuss on the charging compartment, because when we take off the headset and put it in the charging compartment, it is in the charging state, so if the battery capacity of the charging compartment is large enough, it can maintain long-term battery life, because After all, no one wants to repeatedly charge the charging compartment for three days and two days. New products and technologies need to subvert the past, solve the pain points of users, and achieve the best user experience. Increasing the battery life of the charging compartment can make up for the low battery power of the headset to some extent, and it is more acceptable than the user.

2. Noise reduction in complex environments Not every oem earbudsTWS factory has done research in the field of acoustics, and there are very few companies specializing in acoustic technology in China. In the era of smart phones, noise reduction technology achieves the effect of noise reduction through methods such as network optimization + hardware support + software assistance. Among the mid-to-high-end brands we tested, almost no noise reduction experience that we are satisfied with was achieved; Huawei’s noise reduction is quite speaking, and it is OK in China; Another dark horse: the digital silicon microphone + AI algorithm made by Bailing Acoustics is in a lot of Among the products, the experience effect is the best. We measured that the subway can be used normally at the moment of starting and opening and closing the door. The call is not affected, and the sound effect and sound quality can be maintained in a normal state, which is really rare.

3. The bottleneck of the wireless transmission distance is different from the TWS earbuds, because the TWS earbuds itself is a wireless call based on Bluetooth technology. According to the Bluetooth 4.2 protocol, its theoretical call range can reach 100 meters, and the new Bluetooth 5.0 theory can reach 300. Meters, but in actual use, complex environment, circuit itself, radio frequency interference and many other issues limit its use distance; according to actual measurement data, the current mainstream use range in the market is 10 meters, and the farthest is only 12 meters. At this stage, according to the domestic application scenarios, it is obviously unable to meet the user experience needs. Who can solve the problem of transmission distance means having an absolute advantage in this industry!

4. The problem of sound quality and sound effect This kind of problem does not have much repercussions in China, but buyers in other countries have relatively high requirements for sound quality and sound effect. At Amazon, we have grabbed a lot of data, and many of them are bad. Comments on the feedback sound quality and sound effects are too poor. In addition to the need for good chips and solutions, good materials for the hardware are also needed for audio and sound effects. On the other hand, it also needs tuning on hardware + software (very professional). The cavity structure design of the headset will It directly affects the sound quality and the experience of sound effects. It is still a word, I want to do TWS, I want to be more professional in this industry, not plagiarism, just a simple appearance and structure, the inner things can better reflect the competitiveness of the product.

Industry development prospects of TWS headset products:

Based on market development and industry pre-judgment, combined with the user experience of the product market and the capture of TWS-related issues, the author makes an industry outlook for such products based on my own perception:

1. TWS earbuds will move towards intelligence. With the help of AI technology and rapid development, TWS earbuds can be perfectly combined with AI in the field, and can be used in combination with AI products. On the other hand, they can also let go of the pace and take a completely smart product route. . Because the current intelligent voice service technology is also becoming more mature and widely used in automobiles, smart home products, etc., TWS earbuds can do all these: such as full voice control, gesture control, etc., in addition to smart hands that have been widely used. The sonsor technology on rings and watches can actually be extended to TWS headsets; in the next stage of market competition, the artificial intelligence of TWS products will become one of the focuses.

2. Hardware manufacturer chips will integrate more TWS functions. Taking Qualcomm as an example, Qualcomm TWS Plus technology also supports the new QCC 5100 series Bluetooth chips. TWS Plus is currently limited to use with the Snapdragon 845 platform. If a headset that supports this technology is paired to another device for use, it will only be connected in TWS mode. Can not enjoy lower audio delay and longer battery life. In addition, this technology can use the mobile phone as a broadcast center without the support of any continuous equipment, and transmit audio signals to multiple Bluetooth devices at the same time. At present, mobile phones that support Bluetooth 5.0 technology have gradually become mainstream configurations. I believe that with the continuous investment of hardware manufacturers and the upgrading of products, more technical applications will give wings to TWS earbuds.

3. Extensibility of TWS products At present, the TWS industry is mainly represented by TWS earbuds. In fact, TWS is not only applied to headset products, but can also be extended to all audio fields (TWS speakers, TWS smart wearable products, etc.) in each category of innovation or To seize the market opportunity is enough to make you stand out in the market!

4. High bit rate transmission will still be the focus of the next step. The high transmission bandwidth of Bluetooth 5.0 also makes bilateral calls with TWS true wireless Bluetooth earbuds possible, and high bit rate audio playback is also the first breakthrough in Bluetooth audio products. However, there is still a lot of potential for this aspect, mainly in the breakthrough of application technology, Bluetooth 4.2 version, many domestic manufacturers have achieved the DSP effect-mainly in the speaker, and in the field of TWS headset, currently There is no one that can achieve DSP effects; at this point, the original oem earbuds manufacturer and supplier may be the next technical problem to be solved in sound quality and sound effects.