Bang & Olufsen Cisco 950 Earbuads
UX, Interaction Design
2024
Available for purchase @Cisco
Overview
Bang & Olufsen and Cisco have partnered to create a line of co-branded headsets, including the over-ear Cisco 980 and in-ear Cisco 950 earphones, designed for corporate customers.
These earbuds are fully integrated with Cisco’s Control Hub platform, allowing IT teams to easily monitor and manage their collaboration devices and accessories. Developed through close collaboration, these B&O-designed products feature intuitive physical button gestures, customizable options, and voice prompts to enhance the user experience.
My Role
Senior Product designer(1)
SW Interaction Design
HW Interaction Design
Team
UX designer(1)
UX researcher(1)
Product manager(1)
HW engineering team
B&O SW/UX/PM team
Problems
Complex gestures to memorize.
Lack of voice prompts.
Opportunities
Support Microsoft and Webex.
Customizable buttons.
Assumptions
1. Symmetrical button gestures
Pros: Since both earbuds are identical, user can easily memorize the behaviors.
Cons: Limited number of gestures.
2. Asymmetrical button gestures
Pros: It can contain more gesture controls with different features.
Cons: User may difficult to remember all the gesture controls.
Challenge
Aligning gesture controls with basic guidelines while better understanding general user behaviors and ensuring that users can easily follow key gestures and audio feedback.
Observation
Physical product interactions are deeply personal. While there are general guidelines and expectations, each user brings a unique perspective. In gesture design, there may not always be a single correct solution, but there are certainly approaches that can lead to poor user experiences.
Decision
Prioritized interaction requirements included general B&O gesture behaviors, Microsoft features, and Webex integration.
To add exclusive features for Microsoft, we adopted an asymmetrical approach, allowing more control on the both earbuds.
Interaction specs
Clear interaction definitions on both earbuds benefit users by simplifying button usage.
Call and music controls are on the right earbud, while noise cancellation is on the left, providing a clear and intuitive understanding of each earbud’s functions
Project summary
Successfully released the product on the market in mid-2024.
Device supported by Cisco Accessory Hub, B&O Mobile app.
Works with USB dongle.
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