Stamford, CT – 19 May 2021 – HARMAN International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, and its Huemen in-house design agency won brought home 23 iF World Design Awards. The recognition is for outstanding and original design of a wide array of audio products from JBL, Harman Kardon, and Infinity across consumer, luxury, and car audio as well as user interface and app design. HARMAN and its brands hold 449 major global awards for 336 products.
Widely recognized as one of the world’s pre-eminent design competitions, the iF World Design Awards are the international label for outstanding design. Since 1953, the iF label has been a true seal of quality for well-designed products, appreciated by consumers around the world, and by the global design community. Each year, an internationally recognized panel of design experts evaluates submissions based on innovation, functionality, aesthetics, elaboration, responsibility, positioning, and more. This year, the iF awards featured a new two-step jury process as well as new judging criteria and two new awards disciplines.
In the Product Design category, this year’s award winners include:
JBL Partybox on-the-Go: a wireless portable speaker that lets users see, hear, and feel the beat everywhere they go. With 100 watts of powerful JBL Pro Sound, Bluetooth, USB, AUX, and TWS (True Wireless Stereo) connectivity, wireless mics and party lights, as well as a bottle opener, padded shoulder strap, rechargeable battery, and IPX4 splash-proof protection, the JBL Partybox on-the-Go has everything listeners need to get the party started.
wireless headphones that guarantee immersive sound thanks to innovative features like
Adaptive Noise Cancelling with Smart Ambient, which allows listeners to lose themselves in a vivid sound performance either in silence for maximum enjoyment, or with ambient sound if they need to be aware of their surroundings. The earbuds can be used together for stereo audio or each on its own, which saves battery life. Equipped with beamforming mics, JBL Tour Pro+ TWS ensures users will hear and be heard without any echoing or ambient noise disturbance during conference calls.
JBL BassPro Go: the industry’s first in-vehicle powered subwoofer and full-range portable Bluetooth speaker. Users can dial EQ settings through the control panel, maximizing bass response in the vehicle while balancing sound performance and battery life. It also works as a portable speaker when undocked and has a built-in USB power bank to charge other devices. JBL BassPro Go can even connect with other JBL Connect-equipped speakers to take the listening experience to the next level.
Among HARMAN’s other iF award winners in the Product Design category, JBL was chosen for its Boombox 2, Clip 4, Flip 5 Eco, Go 3, Partybox 310, and Xtreme 3 portable speakers, its LIVE 660NC and 460 NC earphones, its Arena, Arena X, and Cruise X PowerSports car speakers, and its JBL DSP and JBL Club amplifiers. Harman Kardon was recognized for its Citation 200 smart speaker as well as its Onyx Studio 7 and Soundsticks 4 wireless speaker systems. Infinity won for its BeTA Speakers and its DSP Amplifier.
In the User Interface category, the winners include:
JBL Bar Setup App, a companion app for users of the JBL Bar series. The app guides them through the setup stages for WiFi via SoftAP, BLE, and WAC and lets them sign in with an Amazon account. This simple WiFi setup gives the user access to multi-room services or music streaming through Amazon Alexa services.
JBL Partybox App, which supports the new generation of Partybox series (Partybox 310 and future products). In addition to personalized light show settings and real-time freestyle lighting interactions, users can discover and connect to another JBL Partybox 310 for true wireless stereo mode or Party mode to amplify sound. The app also includes a customizable microphone EQ to enjoy Karaoke, with tap and play for embedded sound effects.
“With these 23 awards, HARMAN and Huemen have once again demonstrated the winning combination of passion, talent, and hard work that has always been the key to our success,” said Christian Schluender, President & GM, Huemen Design. “Our phenomenal design team and our world-class HARMAN engineers consistently strive to outperform themselves, maintaining an unmatched standard of excellence that continues to earn recognition from the most well-respected design experts in the world.”
