ByteDance is pushing further into hardware with its first set of earbuds. The TikTok owner's $170 Ola Friend buds will only be available in China for now. They link to the company's generative AI assistant, Doubao, which can be activated with a voice command.
According to the South China Morning Post, wearers will be able to use the open-ear buds as a tour guide while traveling and to practice English (among other things) after they're paired with the Doubao mobile app. The publication notes that Doubao is currently the most popular GAI app in China, with more than 47 million monthly active users in September.
The debut of Ola Friend follows ByteDance completing its purchase of Oladance, a maker of wearable audio devices, this year. ByteDance also owns VR headset maker Pico.
The earbuds are available in four colors, purple, silver, black and white. Pre-orders are open today and Ola Friend will ship on October 17.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/tiktok-owner-bytedance-unveils-its-first-earbuds-in-china-143507603.html?src=rss
