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Analyst claims Google and Amazon might be making AirPods alternatives
- Google and Amazon might release truly wireless earbuds in the second half of 2019, claims a noted analyst.
- The two companies would be seen as Apple’s biggest competitors due to their respective ecosystems.
- Google and Amazon are established players in the speaker market with their Home and Echo devices, respectively.
They might not have been first, but the Apple AirPods continue to take the lead of a market now filled with an endless number of alternatives. If word from noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is to be believed, Google and Amazon are prepping AirPods alternatives of their own.
According to a research note obtained by MacRumors, Kuo predicted that Google and Amazon will launch truly wireless earbuds in the second half of 2019. Kuo said Google and Amazon would be Apple’s two largest competitors due to the former’s influence on Android and the latter’s Alexa voice assistant.
Kuo even name-dropped Goertek and Unitech in the report as the sole suppliers for Google and Amazon’s AirPods alternatives.
Google and Amazon are already in the speaker business with their Home and Echo speakers, respectively. Google also entered the headphone market with the Pixel Buds, though they are seen as a miss more than a hit.
The AirPods and their rumored refresh would not be Google and Amazon’s only competition, however. The two companies would also have to contend with offerings like the Samsung Gear IconX, Bose SoundSport Free, HUAWEI Freebuds 2 Pro, Jabra Elite 65t, and Sony WF-SP700N, just to name a few.