Is Samsung about to enter the hearing aid market?
Electronics giant Samsung looks set to shake up the hearing aid industry, according to a report from BusinessKorea online. Following on from the success of the collaboration between its rival Apple and GN ReSound and Starkey Hearing Technologies, Samsung looks set to invest in the hearing aid industry.
Unlike Apple, Samsung are proposing to actually manufacture its own hearing device. BusinessKorea notes that Samsung recently placed an order for $14 million worth of amplifiers, which are a requirement of any hearing aid.
As the largest manufacturer of smartphones, Samsung is also the biggest electronics company in the world. By entering the hearing aid industry, Samsung would be increasing its presence in the mobile health market.
With more than 80 different businesses and 275,000 employees around the world, Samsung is ranked as the eighth most valuable brand worldwide according to Forbes magazine. Samsung’s sales are significantly larger than many of its rivals. For instance in 2013, Samsung shipped 281.5 million smartphones worldwide, while its closest rival, Apple, shipped just 43.7 million.
It will be interesting to see whether Samsung do better than companies like 3M, Bausch & Lomb and Motorola who all tried and failed in the 80s and 90s to move into the hearing aid market.
Samsung’s huge resources and track record of success could make it the right company to add a seventh member to the Big Six group of companies that has dominated the manufacturing of hearing aids for the past decade.
Samsung views expansion into the growing hearing aid market as a source of potential growth for the company. It is reported that the new Samsung hearing aid would be developed in time to release at the same time as the new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S7. The S7 upgrades will mean it can connect directly to the hearing instruments.
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