harman
Latest
JBL brings new microphones to CES 2024, including a wireless clip-on model
JBL brought a trio of condenser microphones to CES 2024 in Las Vegas. These include models to suit content creators of all kinds, and even professional musicians.
Harman says its new JBL wireless turntable doesn't skimp on audio quality
Harman's JBL Spinner BT record player has Bluetooth 5.2 support and aptX HD encoding. Alternatively, you can hook it up to speakers with a wired connection.
Harman gets into charging with its InfinityLab line
Samsung's announced the launch of InfinityLab, a new brand under which it plans to sell a line of "sustainable" wall chargers, power banks and cables.
JBL's latest earbuds and headphones pack 'smart' noise cancelling
JBL has unveiled a flood of earbuds and headphones, including wireless models with a 'smart' ambient mode to bring in sound from the outside world.
Harman's latest audio tech is designed for in-car concerts
Due to COVID-19, livestreams and drive-in shows are very popular. Harman wants to make the audio in your car much better for them.
Harman patented flying robotic speakers
Imagine you're using a VR headset and as a car races past, you hear it whip from left to right. Only the sound literally moves from left to right because it's coming from a robotic speaker that zips across the room. From the looks of a new patent, audio company Harman is dreaming up speakers that would do just that.
JBL's Link Drive makes your dumb old car smart
Incorporating digital assistants into modern vehicles has proven transformative for drivers, but only the folks who can afford to pony up for a new(ish) car that has them built in. For those of us still driving older models, those features aren't readily available unless we pull out our phones while driving -- not good. But with the new Link Drive from JBL, any vehicle with a cigarette lighter can offer Google Assistant's help to its passengers.
AT&T and Harman bring connected features to your existing car
AT&T is joining the ranks of carriers that can bring a whole suite of connected car technology to older passenger vehicles. It's launching the Harman Spark, an OBD-II dongle that adds diagnostics, tracking and LTE data to cars from 1996 and beyond. Unlike the old ZTE Mobley, this isn't just about internet access. It can alert you to car trouble (including theft), help you find and pay for roadside help and locate your vehicle.
Samsung's Harman unveils its new premium soundbar lineup
When Samsung acquired Harman International Industries last year, it was pretty obvious the tech brand had eyes on the Harman Kardon audio division. The pair have worked together on a few projects since --smartphones and tablets featuring Harman-owned AKG-tuned audio, for example -- but now the collaboration is taking Samsung further into the premium audio sector. Two new co-branded premium soundbars developed with Harman, the Samsung HW-N950 and HW-N850, will go on the market later this month.
The Rock's Under Armour headphones are built for intense workouts
Wireless headphones are dime a dozen, unless you want a pair that's on- or over-ear and designed to handle intense workouts. There are plenty of solid options for fitness buffs, including the JLab Epic2 and Jaybird X3, but those are earbuds. Bose's QuietComfort 35 IIs, meanwhile, are great over-ears, but they're not made from water-resistant materials -- and you want that if you're using them at the gym. That's a gap Under Armour hopes to fill with its new Project Rock wireless, on-ear headphones, which are specifically designed for workouts and were created with input from training junkie Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock.
Harman is designing smart interiors for tomorrow's autonomous cars
The days of owning your own car may soon be coming to an end, what with the growing popularity of ride sharing matched with the promise of autonomous vehicle technology. Should that self-driving car service future come about, Harman International want to be ready with audio and connected vehicle systems to match whatever you're riding in to your specific mood and tastes.
JBL adds Google Assistant to its Everest line of headphones
Samsung-owned Harman International just announced three new models for its JBL Everest line of wireless headphones. The over-ear 710GA, on-ear 310GA and in-ear 110GA all include Google Assistant (hence the GA designation), giving you voice control over your music, phone calls and notifications. All three models will be available this spring for $250, $200 and $100, respectively.
Samsung has a $300 million fund aimed at smarter cars
Samsung is planning to get ahead in the connected car market with a new $300 million fund focused entirely on auto-related startups and technologies. The Samsung Automotive Innovation Fund has been earmarked for smart sensors, machine vision, artificial intelligence, safety solutions and more, and will help even the playing field between the company and its biggest rivals. Intel paid $15.3 billion last month to acquire Mobileye, while Qualcomm is currently in the process of buying automotive-grade chip maker NXP Semiconductors. Samsung's first major investment with the fund -- to the tune of $89 million -- will be in networking and safety control company TTTech. The company has provided automotive technology to a number of manufacturers, including Boeing for its 787 Dreamliner, NASA for its Orion Spacecraft, and more pertinently, Audi for its A8.
Samsung completes its biggest acquisition ever
Despite its explosive growth, Samsung has mostly preferred to buy smaller startups or develop its own technology. That changed last November when the company announced it would purchase Harman International Industries, Incorporated for about $8 billion, and tonight it confirmed the deal is complete.
Harman's Ignite platform helps your car talk to your house
Whether you want it or not, your car is getting smarter. Between GPS, satellite infotainment systems and cloud-based services like OnStar, automobiles are becoming increasingly connected to the world around them. Here at CES, Harman unveiled a cloud-controlled development platform that aims to be a one-stop shop for controlling all of the devices and features in and outside the vehicle.
Samsung buying auto and audio giant Harman for $8 billion
Samsung has agreed to acquire Harman International Industries, an auto parts supplier best known by consumers for its Harman Kardon audio division. The $8 billion, all-cash deal is the largest in Samsung's history, and an unusual move for a company that normally develops tech in-house. It instantly makes Samsung a much bigger player in the connected and autonomous vehicle industry dominated by Google, Apple and automakers like Tesla, GM and Volvo.
Facebook, Intel and carriers team up to rethink telecom networks
Facebook set out to create a better home for your data with the Open Compute Project, but that's only part of the problem -- without good telecom networks, you can't get that data. That's where the company's new Telecom Infra Project aims to help. The partnership with 30 companies (including Intel, Nokia and multiple carriers) hopes to improve the cost, speed and reach of networks through open, collaborative designs. Ideally, you'll see technologies like 5G arrive faster, and data service in rural areas where it would normally be impractical.
Microsoft and Harman want to put Office 365 in your car
We get it, driving to work is a period of time where we're not particularly productive. We're usually listening to some Serial episodes or swiping through emails in the passenger seat. But do we really need full access to Office 365 in our vehicles? Apparently so. Harman has teamed up with Microsoft to integrate the productivity suite into its infotainment systems. You won't be polishing off Excel spreadsheets or writing up reports in Word, however. Using "personal assistant software," the experience will be geared towards scheduling and communications -- setting up meetings, responding to emails, joining conference calls and the like.
Neil Young's high-definition Pono Music is coming to cars
In addition to a triangle-shaped player, Neil Young's Pono effort also includes a music store for purchasing high-definition tunes. Here at CES, the man behind the project announced that he's teaming up with Harman to bring the higher-quality tracks to vehicles. Harman is a big name in infotainment and in-car audio, and it's already been working on solutions to make compressed audio sound better. Compared to other high-resolution players, Pono is competitively priced at $400, and if you opt in to the ecosystem, it looks like your next car could have the tech to handle all that music, too. If it has a Harman stereo installed, of course.
Spotify headed to Harman's ritzy JBL wireless music docks
Want to listen to that back-to-school playlist with a bit of panache? Harman International's chi-chi JBL Authentics L16 and L8 wireless streaming docks now support Spotify Connect streaming, letting you control songs from your phone while not actually streaming from it. On top of improving Bluetooth range, that means you can play games or surf without interrupting music playback. The Authentic devices also support Airplay and DLNA connectivity, and come with an optional Qi charging pad. If you were thinking the L16 dock shown above looks pretty posh, bear in mind that it also runs a cool $1,000 (the L8 is $500). If those figures don't make you flinch, Spotify-equipped units are now shipping, and existing Authentics devices will receive an update soon.
