In short:Samsung has now announced three new AKG headphones and confirmed all three models are coming to the US. These are the N700NC over-ear headphones, the Y500 on-ear headphones, and the Y100 in-ear headphones. Both the Y500 and Y100 models are already available to buy in the US, and priced at $149.95 and $99.95, respectively. The new N700NC over-ear headphones are not expected to become available until “later this year” and will be priced at $349.95.
Background: AKG is known for its quality audio products and solutions, and this is one of the reasons Samsung acquired the brand as part of a larger HARMAN acquisition which took place in early 2017. Since then, Samsung has been bridging the gap between its own products and AKG’s with some Samsung products either coming bundled with AKG products, or including AKG technologies inside. However, Samsung has also maintained the AKG brand as it is, with this latest announcement an example of how the brand will continue to output audio-specific solutions for the consumer market.
Impact: These three new AKG products will appeal directly to different consumers. For example, of the new options, the N700NC (shown above) is easily the most premium as it not only comes with a higher price tag, but is also an over-ear option that features Adaptive Noise cancelling (ANC) – the only one of the three new arrivals to do so. In addition, these are Bluetooth headphones and come equipped with a battery which is said to offer up to 20 hours of usage from a single charge. Although that figure is likely to be further dependent on whether ANC is in use or not. In contrast to the N700NC, the Y500 and Y100 are both designed to be more of an on-the-go solution with one of the primary differences between the two being form. As while the Y500 is more of a typical headphone product, the Y100 arrives as an earbud option. Likewise, as the Y500 is a larger unit overall, it does also come with a greater capacity battery where a two hour and thirty minute charge will result in up to 33 hours of wireless usage. This compares to the Y100 which only offers up to eight hours of usage following a two-hour charge. Other than that the two are designed to offer a similar listening experience by drawing on the same AKG technologies, including the use of Ambient Aware, as well as the same color options with both models now available to buy in either black, blue, green or pink.
Buy AKG Y500 On-Ear HeadphonesBuy AKG Y100 In-Ear Headphones
