Proving the market readiness for a new audio paradigm

In 2016, an engineer in Bose’s R&D group had developed a speaker that was incredibly tiny and yet still able to produce good quality sound. This was a technology without a use case. We asked ourselves, what if we packaged these speakers into a wearable, to give people the out loud listening experience of a speaker, but the privacy of a headphone? Would anyone want this?

We asked 22 participants across the US and Europe to try out our open ear audio prototypes for 2-weeks, and document their experiences. We then engaged each participant in an hour-long conversation to delve deeper.

The feedback on the open ear audio experience was overwhelmingly positive. Functionally, it gave people the ability to listen to their audio content while still being aware of their surroundings while running outdoors, or doing chores around the home. Emotionally, the situational awareness they gained made them feel safer and more connected to their surroundings.

To convey the extent to which this concept was positively received, we made a video highlight reel of our research participants talking about what the open ear audio experience meant to them. This was accompanied by a strategy and insights deck that outlined the jobs-to-be-done and mental model for open ear audio relative to traditional ways of listening to audio (out loud through speakers or private through headphones).

Prior to this study, stakeholders feared that consumers wouldn’t care for open ear audio, or wouldn’t have a clear use case for the product. Based on resoundingly positive reception to the prototypes, Bose fast-tracked the development of Bose Frames, our first open ear audio product, which launched in 2018. The product has surpassed sales expectations every quarter since it was launched.