“A battle for your face has begun with a voice assistant, the next big platform in tech. As Apple Watch’s success shows, the most common wearable device has been a watch so far. However, tech giants are getting more serious about earbuds and smart glasses now. Amazon recently introduced 14 new devices at the Amazon 2019 Hardware Event and of those, Echo Buds is the most noteworthy. Amazon has had success with its Alexa assistant in the home smart speaker market so far. But now the company wants Alexa to leave home with Echo Buds, its first true wireless earbuds. Microsoft and Google are also expected to announce their own true wireless earbuds with their AI voice assistants and a range of voice-powered software in October. Even though Apple will keep leading the market, for the time being, thanks to its loyal base of hardware users and its sticky ecosystem of devices and software, the true wireless market will get more dynamic and energetic, driven by the new entrants. The new launches may also be strong enough to threaten the current second-tier premium brands, including Samsung, Jabra, Bose, and Beats.” – Liz Lee