Dive Brief:

• Smartphone microphones have failed to keep up with other types of technology, preventing apps like virtual assistants from reaching their potential, Bloomberg News reports.
• In response, several companies are now racing to improve microphone technology to cash in on the demand.
• Companies like Apple and Google want a higher signal-to-noise ratio and a higher acoustic overload point, among other things.

Dive Insight:

Mobile phone makers want to differentiate themselves by making their virtual assistants more useful and reliable, but to do so requires better microphones. At the same time, the mics can’t get any larger or use more power. It’s a big challenge, but one worth solving given that the market for mics is $1 billion globally, Bloomberg reports. Most smartphones today use multiple microphones.

But the race is now on to see who can make the next microphone breakthrough. The industry leader, Knowles, is using audio-processing algorithms in the mic chips. Another maker, Vesper, is experimenting with entirely new mic designs.