Samsung May Challenge Shokz With Its Own Open-Ear Bone Conduction Headphones
Industry insiders just claimed that Samsung could announce its first ever open-air bone conducting audio device at the Samsung Unpacked event in July. No word however on whether the mystery device will be a hook-style or around-the-back headband design, but in either case, the open wireless stereo (OWS) product could put some heat on open-air offerings from Shokz, Sony, and Bose.
Tireless leakster Ice Universe posted via Weibo claiming that Samsung's MX division (formerly Samsung Mobile) "will release bone conduction headphones at the Samsung Fold7 launch event in July," codenamed "Able." If true, this headphone would finally put the South Korean company in the same playing field as Shokz, the current market leader in bone-conduction headphones and earphones.
Open-ears are perfect for those who have irritable ear canals, prefer greater situational awareness when they're out and about, and/or want all-day comfort compared to in-ear devices like AirPod Pros. On top of that, bone conduction introduces the concept of transmitting audio through a combination of speaker ports directed into the ear canal and vibrations via the cheekbones (as in Shokz's case). That said, we have a couple of doubts about this rumor.
First, the company would be very late to the game. Not only would it be playing catch up to industry leaders, but as a trend, open-air bone conduction headphones are being overtaken by so-called air-conduction gear. A big part of this shift is due to sound quality: bone conduction audio gear has terrible bass response and suffers from high distortion even at medium volume. Even if Samsung taps into AKG's expertise, it's unlikely it'll be up to company standards. Even Shokz has somewhat and unofficially acknowledged this fact by launching its OpenFit air conduction line.
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Which leads us to the second point: the sources have erroneously assumed that an OWS Galaxy device would actually be bone conducting. It's possible that Samsung HAS done its homework and could launch an air conduction device. Alternatively, the new product could be a follow-up to the quasi-open air Galaxy Buds Live that sat JUST right outside the ear canal.
Of course, this could all be somebody blowing smoke. If this product is actually real, it's possible that we'll see more concrete information and leaks as we get closer to Samsung Unpacked. At this July event, the company will announced the Galaxy Z Fold/Flip 7, and possibly a tri-fold phone as well.
