TikTok owner ByteDance launches US$170 earbuds in China in push into AI wearables

The Ola Friend earphones are linked to ByteDance’s self-developed chatbot, Doubao, currently China’s most popular GenAI app

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ByteDance’s new AI earbuds are available in China. Photo: Handout

Published: 2:11pm, 10 Oct 2024

ByteDance, owner of popular short-video app TikTok, on Thursday launched its first earbuds, which enable users to talk directly with the company’s generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) chatbot without waking up their smartphone.

The open-ear wearables, Ola Friend, are currently available only in China. They are designed to serve as an audio assistant when the user is travelling, practising English, listening to music, or simply looking for company, according to the product description.

Once installed on a smartphone and connected to the earphones, ByteDance’s chatbot can be activated with the prompt word “Doubao Doubao”, derived from the name of the company’s GenAI service launched last year. The service is powered by the firm’s large language model – the technology behind GenAI applications – that is also called Doubao.

Weighing 6.6 grams each, the earbuds come in four colour options: purple, silver, black and white. Priced at 1,199 yuan (US$170), the device is set to ship from October 17 and is available for order on Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall marketplace, e-commerce platform JD.com, and ByteDance’s own Douyin, the Chinese sibling of TikTok.

The Ola Friend earbuds are available in four colours. Photo: Handout

Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.