Galaxy Air earpiece concept uses hand gestures to interact with your phone

Remember the early days of Bluetooth earpieces that looked like a piece of hard candy coming out of just one ear? Although we have long grown away from those designs toward more discreet TWS earbuds, it seems the design pendulum is swinging back to that position. Of course, the “stem” design of the likes of the AirPods isn’t that obnoxious, but it did tell designers that it was OK to go beyond conventions again. This design concept definitely breaks free from today’s common design trends and embraces some highlights of the past, all for the sake of delivering a new experience in controlling your smartphone without taking it out of your pocket or even touching any device at all.

Designer: Yash Saboo

There are a few ways that allow you to use your smartphone without touching it, at least for some of the most basic functions. You can command Apple Siri or Google Assistant by voice, or you can tap and swipe on your smartwatch for some functionality that’s available on your wearable. Voice control isn’t always feasible in all situations, though, and not everyone has a smartwatch. A lot of people have Bluetooth earbuds, and those at least let you control music and calls. The range of controls available here, however, is severely limited because you can only map a few taps or even fewer swipes to certain actions.

This Bluetooth earpiece concept blasts the door wide open by expanding the number of actions you can make. Instead of relying on limited taps and swipes, you’ll be able to use hand gestures made in front of your face or ear to control the smartphone in your pocket or on your table. A two-finger wave, for example, can accept or end calls, while twitching your index finger can make an emergency call. Of course, you can still use taps and swipes on the earpiece itself for media playback, freeing hand gestures for other actions like reading notifications or your schedule.

To make gesture recognition possible, you will definitely need more hardware than can fit in tiny earbuds. That’s why this design goes a bit back in time to reuse some designs from previous years. The over-the-ear design, for example, has mostly disappeared by now, but it’s utilized here to offer a secure fit for a bone conduction headset. Yes, this doesn’t go inside your ear but allows you to be completely aware of your surrounding even while wearing it. Unfortunately, that technology hasn’t exactly retained its popularity, but it’s still a better option in this context.

The most important part of the earpiece, however, is all the electronics that are crammed in a case that will hang behind your ear. It’s similar, in a way, to how some hearing aids try to hide those same parts, but this time there’s really no attempt to mask its presence. After all, it needs to be able to see what’s in front of your ear so that it can detect hand gestures.

It’s admittedly an unorthodox design that may or may not be uncomfortable to wear over long periods of time. The fact that it also works only on one ear makes it less useful for enjoying music or watching videos with stereo sound. It’s still an interesting take on how we can expand the ways to control our phones with hand gestures without having to wear smart glasses that open an entirely different can of worms.

The post Galaxy Air earpiece concept uses hand gestures to interact with your phone first appeared on Yanko Design.

These headphones and mouthpiece rely on bone conduction to transmit audio from your bones to your inner ear!





Bit-N Music is an audio project that aims to find a new way of experiencing music for the hearing impaired community through the use of bone conduction.

Bone conduction is the transmittance of sound to the inner ear through the bones of the skull. It’s one reason we cringe when we hear our own voices played back on recorded audio. Since bones conduct lower frequencies than air, when we listen to recordings, our voices might sound higher than we expect. Relied on by the hearing impaired community and musicians among others, bone conduction speakers are even used by scuba divers and some hearing aids also employ bone conduction. Using bone conduction to create a set of audio wear specifically for the hearing impaired community, designer Noelia Martin crafted Bit-N Music, “a project that seeks to find a new way of experiencing music.”

Initially constructed as a prototype, Bit-N Music is comprised of three components: a pair of headphones, a mouthpiece, and a connector jack. During the prototype phase, Martin invited peers to test the bone conductive audio wear, asking them to listen to music while biting down on the mouthpiece. Describing the process of bone conduction for her specific design, Martin notes, “Once your teeth make contact with the prototype, they conduct the sound through the skull and reach the auditory nerve directly, thus making it possible to hear what is being emitted by the chosen device.”

“Designed for people with conductive, mixed or unilateral hearing problems (isolating sensorineural dysfunctions),” Martin’s experimental project provides an auditory product that relies first and foremost on our bodies and their natural adaptability to produce quality sound that resonates with the inner ear. This inclusive design replaces the role of our eardrums with bone conduction to generate, “a space for dialogue between music and people with different hearing conditions. A place where two different realities coexist, but with similar experiments.”

Designer: Noelia Martin

The post These headphones and mouthpiece rely on bone conduction to transmit audio from your bones to your inner ear! first appeared on Yanko Design.

Cornell researchers created an earphone that can track facial expressions

Researchers from Cornell University have created an earphone system that can track a wearer's facial expressions even when they're wearing a mask. C-Face can monitor cheek contours and convert the wearer's expression into an emoji. That could allow p...

Earphones that magnetically hang like a necklace for the ultimate tech-fashion statement

Being an audiophile means you take the audio quality and ergonomic fit of your earphones pretty seriously. If you get one that is stylish too, then you are in for a jackpot. Having a pair of earbuds that come with a snug fit, boast style statement and the reassurance of not being misplaced is something you just can’t ignore.

We are talking about these earphones that are designed to double up as a jewelry piece. Designed by Yibai Science & Technology from Shenzen, these are called the “Jade Culture Earphone Jue 20.” That’s a bit odd name but everything else about these conceptual wireless earbuds listed on iF Design Award 2020 is super cool. When not in use, the earbuds magnetically lock together to take the form of a necklace pendant that’s suspended by the tethering wire. Then again, when you want to listen to your favorite tunes, simply separate the pendant and get groovy. Picture this scenario – your buddy compliments, “This pendant looks so cool, bud”, and you’ll detach them and plug-in to your ears to their amazement, “It’s my pair of earbuds, mate!” Added bonus – you surely won’t lose one of the earbuds as there is no accidentally falling down- speaking to you AirPods!

The earbuds are designed keeping in mind the ergonomic comfort while listening to music for an extended duration of time, which is a usual affair with music lovers. They come with the “half-ring in-ear” method for use in the listening mode. To give them a sophisticated look – both as an earphone and modern jewelry piece – the makers have draped the outer sculptural shape in high-polished material. The glossy finish in emerald green and gold color options is classy and doesn’t look tacky in either use case scenario. Don’t be surprised if these designer earbuds kick-off a new trend of electronic jewelry – in particular – for wireless earphones or even True Wireless Earbuds.

Designer: Yibai Science & Technology

The beautiful pairing of earphones and earrings

We use earphones so regularly that they have almost become a part of our outfit, and they have an impact on our image. However, certain earphones can interfere with earrings, leading to the user having to make the decision about what they think is more important! The YoonJy Earphones offer a rather unique solution to this problem, and one which sees earphones and jewelry working in harmony.

YoonJy is the result of combining the two items together; a large metal hoop intersects the bottom of the earphone, emulating an earring. The simplicity of the hoop has been paired with an equally as minimal earphone; the cylindrical body is interrupted by the circular earpiece, where its color beautifully harmonizes it with the hoop that hangs below.

Designers: Rick Kim & Milmul Studio

Adjust the volume by turning the ring on the earphone.

Earphones for when you don’t want to be disturbed

Earphones are a great tool to use when we want to close ourselves off to the outside world and for those time when we are just feeling a little less talkative. However, some people just don’t get this hint as they persistently try to be heard over your music. This issue led to the development of Gem; the wireless earphones that communicate your desire to not be disturbed.

Gem’s method of showing this derives from the technology used within electrochromic smart windows; its outer-shell changes from being translucent to opaque as a voltage passes through it. This change in state is a beautiful synonym to privacy which only elevates the product’s function in a subtle and intriguing manner.

This technology aside, Gem carries a beautifully sleek form that features immense levels of detail; simplistic branding has been laser etched into the Aluminium core, whilst the capacitive control strip elevates its functionality and the user experience!

Designer: Robbie Lillquist

If you aren’t feeling talkative, you can also manually set the headphones to appear opaque.

Earlier charging case iterations aimed open by sliding forwards, but resulted in a relatively large case to account for the depth of the earbuds. The final concept features a spring-loaded core that rises vertically.

With its adjustable ring position, losing an earphone is a thing of the past!

As technology advances and popularity increases, the size of wireless earphones is dramatically decreasing. Whilst this not only makes the devices appear visually very similar to each other, more significantly it makes them extremely easy to lose! Both of these issues have been addressed with Pretzel, a unique and intriguing concept that certainly looks like a more practical alternative for the real world!

Pretzel’s distinguishing feature is the ring that sits on the external side of each device; the positioning of this soft-touch ring is adjustable so that it does not impede on the earphone’s comfort. A fabric loop elegantly attaches to each ring, connecting the devices together in a distinctive and visually interesting manner. Each of the earphones carries a simplistic and fuss-free aesthetic which has been enhanced through careful attention to detail at the CMF stage of the design process; texture and color separate the loop from the earphones, leading to a beautifully tactile and complete product.

Designer: Jaekyu Jung

The Perfect Wireless Earphones?!

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Wireless earphones are becoming far more of a common sight, with them now being available in a variety of forms aimed to suit different demographics… but Unbound captured our attention, and for one very good reason. It’s carefully considered user experience.

A current annoyance with today’s Bluetooth earphones is their limited usage time due to their reliance on portable batteries. However, the Unbound solution to this is simple, yet ingenious; an extended battery cable attaches sleekly to each earphone, providing them with an extra 4-5 hours of play time, but most importantly, allows them to still be used whilst charging!

The Powercase increases the battery life even further, by more than 12 hours, meaning that you could listen to your music throughout the entirety of your day. With the aesthetics of earphones being a significant motive for purchase, we think it’s fair to say that Unbound carries a desirable style… we could certainly see ourselves using them!

Designer: Kyu Lee

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Extended Battery + Docking Clip

“Unlike most true wireless earbuds including Apple Airpods that can’t be used when charging, this extended battery cable allows users to continue listening or calling while being charged. The Pogo pins in the docking clips deliver electrical power from the extended battery to the earbuds. In addition, the magnets on the clips of the extended battery cable allow functionality in which they can be connected, while still hanging on the user’s neck when it is not being used,” Lee explained.

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Power Case Provides 12+ Hours Play Time

Unbound earbuds deliver 2 1/2 hours play time and an extra 12+ hours from the Power case. The portable power case has the built-in flexible USB charging connector, which allows users to be free from carrying an extra cable.

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The DP-2 is probably the most beautiful earphone ever made

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Towing a fine line between consumer electronics and ornamentation, the DP-2 is exactly what I want trend-setting technology to look like. Designed quite unlike any wireless earphone you’ve seen or you’ll ever see, the DP-2 by Dotcom Creation comes in obsidian black, in an open loop. Wearing them may not feel intuitive at first, but they’re designed to stay on your ear and look incredible as they do.

In a world where we’ve got in-ear, on-ear, and around-ear style headphones, the DP-2 breaks the mold as it holds onto the earlobe in its signature fashion by twisting open and closed. Still in its conceptual stages, the DP-2 was showcased (albeit within glass casing) at CES Asia, alongside Dotcom’s other ventures, which include a coffee kiosk where a robotic arm brews, prepares and serves you your coffee!

Designer: Dotcom Creation

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Deliciously In Order: Doughnut Earphone Organizer

Doughnut Headphone Organizer

No, this isn’t a bite-sized doughnut, although it’s easy to see how most people can mistake it for one. The Doughnut Earphone Organizer is, as its name implies, an organizer that you can use to keep your earbuds in order when you’re not using it.

I used to coil my earphones around my iPod when I was done listening to music and didn’t really see a need for an organizer. I’d end up having to replace my earbuds in a few months’ time though, because the added stress of just coiling them around eventually wore the wire down. So if you have to have an organizer, why not choose something as yummy and easy-to-use as this little doughnut right here?

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Just pull the frosting part up, coil your earphones around the middle, and put the frosting back in place. And voila–stowed away earbud wires without the mess.

The Doughnut Earphone Organizer is priced at $6.76 and is available in three colors.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Holy Cool ]

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