The next episode of the Future Ear Radio podcast features Priti Moudgill, Co-founder and CEO of Peripherii. Priti and her co-founder started Peripherii back in 2015, on the basis that wearable technology would continue to mature and evolve and take on many new form factors, including smart earrings. Peripherii’s devices are tailored toward fashion-forward women who might want the functionality derived from a hearable, but not in the type of form factor that resides inside of your ear, such as earbuds.
Throughout our conversation, Priti and I discuss the increasing merit of this concept, especially with the rise of AirPods and the booming growth of the audio-oriented internet. Priti compares hearables to sneakers, pointing out the fact that many of us wear different types of sneakers for different occasions. As we discuss, much of the type of functionality supplied by hearables is seemingly becoming more and more universally available. Podcasting, using a voice assistant to access the smartphone’s app economy, streaming music, etc – these are all the types of things that the vast majority of hearables can do today. Therefore, the differentiation is coming in the form of different hardware form-factors, and specialized software.
Due to the universality of functions and features, it’s totally conceiveable in my opinion that in time, the sneaker analogy she uses will be increasingly more apt. As more of the smartphone continues to be unbundled to peripheral devices like smart watches, earbuds and earrings, (Peripherii: what a good name for her company), it’s fair to say a considerable portion of people might want that type of functionality with them at all times, albeit in different form factors.
This was a great conversation which speaks to a much broader trend and that’s that many people are seeming to indicate that they want to be connected to their technology, but not completely inundated by their technology. This is where wearable devices have an excellent opportunity to fill an unmet need, as they provide a level of connectivity, supporting key use cases (such as messaging), while providing a sense of liberation from our screens. Smart earrings would seem to play into this trend quite nicely.
-Thanks for Reading-
Dave
