A new survey by Qualcomm Technologies highlights that great sound quality remains vitally important to consumers, and that the majority now believe they can get as good as wired sound with Bluetooth connectivity.

The survey is based on interviewing 6,000 smartphone users across the world, between the ages of 16 and 64.

“Globally, consumers now want to do more than just listen to music on their audio devices, which means our customers will need to integrate new features like voice assistance, cellular and low-latency audio streaming, while at the same time extending battery life and improving sound quality,” said James Chapman, vice president and general manager, voice, music & wearables business unit, Qualcomm Technologies.

Some of the most important findings include:
• Sound quality is a top-ranking purchase driver for 65% of global consumers, with 63% of headphone shoppers saying high-resolution audio quality is important. Additionally, 64% of smart speaker shoppers said sound quality is most important to their purchase decision and 78% of soundbar and home theater shoppers say superior sound quality matters.
• Extended battery life is a top-ranking purchase driver for 61% of consumers surveyed in 2019, up from 47% in 2018. This sharp increase reflects the shift in preference towards wireless, which has allowed users the freedom to enjoy listening on the move.
• More than 30% of those surveyed use their wireless audio devices while gaming.
• 52% of respondents said they would prefer to receive Bluetooth wireless headphones bundled with their next phone.
• 35% of consumers surveyed already own a smart speaker or smart soundbar, and an additional 23% plan to buy one in the next 12 months. In addition, 78% of consumers are willing to pay more for a smart or wireless speaker that supports their desired features.
• 60% of wireless headphone use is in noisy environments, and 63% of users care about Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) as a feature.
• 67% of soundbar shoppers said the ability to stream audio smoothly to other audio devices without any lags (low latency) is important.
• 53% of consumers rated Voice UI as a feature of interest for wireless headphones.
• 73% of users expect their portable/wireless speaker to be able to play music at a very loud volume without distortion or loss of audio quality.

[Image credit: Niclas Illg and for Unsplash]