Audio is getting a makeover. With the launch of Siri taking audio commands and actually being able to think and act through them, audio on your mobile device has become that extra feature every smartphone will want to incorporate.

Traditionally on a smartphone, audio was limited to music and video. You’d need to have your own playlist synced from your computer to your phone to be able to listen to music, and you’d have to use a frustratingly slow browser to stream video. All this has changed. According to the founder and CEO of SoundCloud, Alexander Ljung, “sound is going to be bigger than video. Record is the new QWERTY.” Think about it. The Internet is flooding with increasingly more audio websites. Audio without video is that one place where not enough explorations have been made, and the wave is growing now.

Sound creation, music discovery, streaming, and sharing are all part of a booming industry. Mobile apps like Spotify and Shazam are being downloaded in millions. In fact, Spotify, Shazam, and SoundCloud together have over 120 million users. What has changed in the music world? Well, all these websites and applications are harnessing some demand that pertains to music and bringing it to the App Store. The immense response speaks to the void that exists in audio and the opportunities that lie here. You don’t need a playlist anymore if you have Spotify. You don’t need to be able to recognize songs anymore if you have Shazam. And you definitely don’t need to buy albums anymore if you have access to SoundCloud.

So how is the iPhone connected to the audio revolution? It is the phone best created to work with foreign, bizarre ideas. Some critics argue that Android’s greater market share proves that it is more appreciated by the users, but iPhone users on average use more apps than Android users, and that tells us something.

Mary Meeker, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and nicknamed “Queen of the Net”, vouches for the growth of mobile and audio being the next big thing in the mobile world. We are excited about the development opportunities this wave brings with it. What will be next? Tongue-twister competitions with your phone, perhaps?