Science and Tech

If you want to make successful gadgets, think about software

If you want to make successful gadgets, think about software

In an interview with Scott Fink, product leader of the audio company, he pointed out that after listening to their customers, they returned to the essence of what product development is: listening to customers and experts.

“When we develop new products we invite experts into our labs to listen to their own content and ask them a simple question: What should it sound like as you mixed it in your studio? More importantly, what doesn’t sound good? At first, there are usually adjustments, like an explosion sounds echoy or a scene needs to be perceived to the sides of the listener,” says Flink.

For the launch of its new sound bar, the Sonos Arc Ultra, a device that attracted a lot of attention for its focus on surround sound and Dolby Atmos compatibility, the company made improvements to the sound range and immersive experience .

For the launch campaign, Sonos collaborated with several renowned filmmakers and actors, who highlighted how sound quality impacts the experience of their productions. Among them, cinema figures such as director Denis Villeneuve and actress Tilda Swinton offered their perspective on the value of premium sound in home entertainment experiences, promoting the new bar as an option for those seeking cinema quality at home. .

“Our engineers tune the speaker and we repeat the process several times until it sounds like it did in the studio,” says Fink.

The expert assures that part of this collaboration between hardware and software is in order to have more rounded products, for example in topics such as wireless connections.

“While this is no longer a novel concept today, when we launched our first speaker in 2009 or even our first amplifier in 2005, the idea of ​​a Wi-Fi connected audio system was revolutionary. “We had to innovate in how to synchronize all the speakers over a wireless network and we have developed a lot in that area, with relevant intellectual property,” said the Sonos representative.

The relationship between hardware and software

The growing focus of technology companies on the development of both hardware and software responds to the need to improve the integration of their products and offer personalized experiences.

Apple, for example, has launched the M4 chip, designed specifically to empower its devices with advanced AI capabilities, enhancing professional applications such as Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, and generally giving its devices optimized performance and improved autonomy. This strategy seeks for Apple to have greater control over the design and optimization of its products, which contributes to differentiation and creating a unified ecosystem.

For its part, Samsung has worked closely with Qualcomm to customize Snapdragon processors that optimize hardware and software integration in its Galaxy devices. This collaboration allows Samsung to adapt advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence processing, to the specific needs of its users, thus strengthening its competitiveness in a smartphone market.

This general push towards hardware and software development demonstrates that these companies are seeking to make the most of innovations in AI and processing to create specific solutions that strengthen their technological ecosystems and generate a coherent and advanced user experience.



Source link