According to the latest sources, the True Wireless Stereo (TWS) market has seen the most drastic drop in sales. Reports state that the shipments of the TWS only grew at 6.4% quarter-over-quarter which is its lowest-ever figure in three years.
To put this in numbers, the market for True Wireless Stereo only reached about 58.3 million units in Q2 2021. an analysis report states that the global smart personal audio market grew only 4.7% overall as shipments reached 99.8 million units.
However, Apple who is the leader in the smart personal audio market also reported its first-ever decline. The Cupertino giant also reported that the shipments of AirPods TWS devices fell 25.7% to reach 15.0 million units in Q2 2021.
however, the Cupertino California-based tech giant continued to maintain its lead in the TWS category, but its decline of AirPods shipments resulted in Apple’s market share dipping below 30% in Q2 2021.
in the latest launch, Canalys Research manager Jason Low said “despite the ups and downs, Apple’s key advantage is clear – it has a user ecosystem that is heavily faithful to its products. The release of new AirPods in the second half of the year will prop the category up again, but the growing saturation of its iOS and macOS installed base could be a cause of worry.”
coming back to the TWS market, the report also further stated that Xiaomi took second place in the TWS market, with shipments at 5.3 million while Samsung reported 5.2 million units of shipments. “Since late 2019, the two have been evenly matched. While Xiaomi has moved up the value chain, offering more premium TWS products, Samsung is catching up by bolstering both self-branded and sub-branded TWS offerings especially with JBL under the Harman subsidiary.”
Skullcandy also reported a record high of 7% growth, pushing it into fourth place for the first time. Its success is attributed to its aggressive pivot to an affordable lineup such as Dime, Jib, and Sesh targeting a younger demographic than Samsung or Apple.
