HARMAN

Not just JBL and Harman Kardon

It’s difficult to explain what Harman International does because it covers such a wide range of areas. To put it simply, the company is a global company that designs and engineers connected car systems, audio-visual products, enterprise automation solutions, and connected services for automakers, consumers, and businesses around the world. In March 2017, the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics.

Harman International owns a variety of brands, but its oldest is the American audio brand JBL. As the company name suggests, it also owns the audio brand Harman Kardon. From car audio, the company has made significant inroads into the field of in-vehicle electronics, and is now a huge company with 33,400 employees and annual revenues of approximately 1.5 trillion yen (10.5 billion US dollars), focusing on in-car intelligence and connectivity, as well as consumer and professional audio equipment such as Bluetooth speakers.

Speedy development

The briefing was held by Harman Automotive, the company’s automotive division. The briefing was held to introduce the company’s next-generation products. As mentioned above, the company is strong in the car audio field and holds the number one share of the original equipment market, but it also highlighted its strengthening of the intelligent cockpit field, where it also holds the number one share.

The target was the convenience of mobile phones and the rapid development that makes it possible. “Convenience” here refers to both hardware aspects such as resolution and software aspects such as ease of use. Compared to mobile phones, which are often replaced every two to three years, automobiles have a longer replacement cycle. Naturally, in-car devices are one to two generations behind mobile phone technology.

The company says that this delay can be minimized through its latest product line, “Ready Products,” developed under the leadership of Harman.

Presenting a variety of proposals

Ready Link Marketplace demo. — A demo of Ready Vision.

The following 12 ready products were presented at the briefing.

Ready AwareEnhanced　awareness of your surroundingsReady
CareProtect　what matters mostReady
ConnectFrom　disconnected to connectedReady
CQuence LoopDevelop　software in virtual environmentsReady
DisplayA　stunning visual experienceReady
EngageAn　AI-powered personal assistantReady
on DemandUnlock　the power of soundReady
Link MarketplaceDigital　commerce platformReady
TogetherZone　-based sound and entertainment managementReady
TuneA　powerful sound experienceReady
UpgradeReady　for next-generation vehicle upgradesReady
VisionAccurate　information, the right way

This time, I will briefly introduce only three points.

The NQ3 and NQ7, which boast thinness, high resolution, and high brightness, were demonstrated as Ready Display products. Samsung claims that the performance of OLED, which is typically expensive, has been achieved at a lower cost with the QLED series, which uses cadmium-free QD film and blue mini LED backlight displays, which are patented by Samsung.

Ready Vision is a proposal to use the lower part of the windshield as a new HMI area. It is usually used as a meter and display, and in some cases it has the convenience of a transparent hood.

Ready Link Marketplace is a digital commerce platform that can connect entertainment such as music, videos, and games, as well as online meeting apps such as ZOOM and TEAMS, and news apps to in-car devices.

All of these are finished products led by HARMAN that will be proposed to automakers around the world with the goal of being introduced into new vehicles. As evidenced by the fact that HARMAN has been conducting research and development with automakers in various regions at five development centers in North America, Asia, and Eastern Europe, it is said that after-sales service after implementation is also one of its strengths. Some of the above products have been adopted by automakers since 2024, and their share may expand in the future, just like audio equipment.