Skullcandy and Bragi Partner to Enable Hands-Free Audio Experiences Via Intuitive Voice Commands

PARK CITY, Utah, June 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Skullcandy Inc., the #1 selling North American brand in stereo headphones¹ and true wireless earbuds² under $100, announced today a partnership with Bragi, the inventor and largest intellectual property owner of true wireless headphones. The partnership enables Skullcandy to create truly smart, future-proof audio products, infused with easy-to-use, transformative technology incorporating Bragi's software platform featuring embedded AI.

"Skullcandy has earned our market-leading position due to a keen obsession with our consumer's adventurous uses," said Jason Hodell, CEO at Skullcandy. "Giving our fans the freedom to enjoy their content, control their earbuds and enable communications all without taking off their gloves or letting go of the handlebars is an exciting advancement for our brand."

The hallmark feature of the platform is the ability to go completely hands-free — an important capability for Skullcandy's core audience of youthful, adventurous audio consumers. With a simple voice command, users will be able to start and control their media player, even without internet connectivity – a competitive advantage compared to other brands in the space – as well as accept or reject incoming calls.  As one of the last independent audio brands, Skullcandy is in a unique position to play a truly neutral role in the consumer journey by offering direct access to any native voice assistant on a smartphone. This broad range compatibility ensures seamless functionality for all users, regardless of their phone operating system.

"Skullcandy owns the sub-$100 segment in the U.S., commanding huge volumes and enabling us to deliver millions of Bragi-enabled earbuds to the market," said Nikolaj Hviid, Founder and CEO at Bragi. "The partnership with Skullcandy is transformational to Bragi becoming a platform for headphones, just as Android and iOS are for smartphones," said Hviid.

Made up of co-developed, system-on-a-chip (SoC) technology, the all-new Skullcandy platform was engineered with updatable firmware. This enables Skullcandy earbuds to receive over-the-air updates as new features become available. Users will be able to update their audio products via the Skullcandy App to add new features, not only enhancing functionality to make them smarter over time but further adding value by extending product lifespan.

"Through a massively scaled design and integration effort with our strategic partners, Skullcandy has developed a scalable, cost-effective, advanced technology platform for software-defined audio products," said Jeff Hutchings, Chief Product Officer at Skullcandy. "The new platform utilizes best-in-class, customized BT SoC functionality along with the Bragi OS to support advanced features like hands-free voice control, customizable button interfaces and more."

The Skullcandy technology platform – which will launch across three new true wireless products later this year – will also allow users to share audio with others nearby via compatible Skullcandy audio products, take a photo with a button press on the earbud and even end battery anxiety with a verbal update on remaining capacity each time earbuds are activated. 

For more information on Skullcandy visit Skullcandy.com or follow along on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. For more information on Bragi, visit Bragi.com.

^1. The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service, based on Stereo Headphone Dollar Share and Unit Share YTD May 2021.

^2. The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service, based on True Wireless Earbuds Dollar Share and Unit Share YTD May 2021.

About Skullcandy®
Skullcandy is the original lifestyle audio brand, born in 2003 through an idea that was discovered while riding a chairlift in Park City, Utah. Fast forward to today where Skullcandy is the #1 selling brand in Stereo Headphones¹ and True Wireless Earbuds² under $100, is on a mission "to unleash the visceral power of music for all." Skullcandy headphones and earbuds are created, tuned and tested to deliver music you can feel, specially engineered to provide a deeper, more immersive listening experience. The brand supports charitable causes through its Music With A Mission program where dedicated campaigns and a portion of proceeds from limited-edition product sales help make an impact. Skullcandy designs, markets, and distributes its audio products through a variety of distribution channels globally. The company's website can be found at www.Skullcandy.com.

About Bragi
Bragi was founded in 2013 and launched the world's first Truly Wireless Earphones in 2015. Since then Bragi has evolved from a promising startup to a market moving creator of innovative technology, opening the new category of Truly Wireless Earphones. Bragi transformed into a software enabler for consumer brands, focusing on scaling its technology after investing more than $90 million in software and AI.
Bragi's Software Platform consists of an earphone OS and a smartphone App embedding advanced AI and efficient software. For more information about Bragi's Software Platform, visit www.bragi.com.

SOURCE Skullcandy