Audio equipment manufacturers JBL and Bowers & Wilkins, alongside parent entity HARMAN, are marking three company milestones in 2026, including 10 years of partnership with Samsung Electronics.

The 2026 milestones comprise JBL’s 80th anniversary, Bowers & Wilkins’ 60th anniversary, and a decade of joint operations since Samsung acquired HARMAN as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Speaking on the anniversary, HARMAN Lifestyle Division President Dave Rogers and Chief Technology Officer Armin Prommersberger stated that future strategy will focus on artificial intelligence, enhanced connectivity, and user-adaptive technology.

Rogers noted that JBL expanded from cinema and studio monitors into consumer audio, pointing to the development of the JBL 4310 studio monitor into the commercial L100 loudspeaker. He added that Bowers & Wilkins established its acoustic precision through products such as the 801 loudspeaker, used at Abbey Road Studios.

Prommersberger highlighted past engineering innovations, including Bowers & Wilkins’ Matrix cabinet technology and the five-year research programme that developed the Nautilus loudspeaker’s tapered-tube design to absorb drive-unit sound.

Regarding the Samsung partnership, executives highlighted early joint projects, such as integrating AKG audio technology into Samsung Galaxy mobile devices and developing the Automotive Digital Cockpit system. Prommersberger stated that future technological focus will centre on reducing manual device management by creating seamless transitions across home, mobile, and automotive environments.

Read the interview marking the anniversary here: https://news.samsung.com/global/interview-sound-that-connects-80-years-of-audio-and-the-future-of-connected-experiences