- Xiaomi rose to the second spot. It was on the fourth in Q2 2019
- United States accounted for 31 per cent of the global market
The true wireless hearables market for 2019 is expected to reach 120 million units. Global tech giants’ strategies focused on voice communication will help sustain the strong growth momentum informed a recent report published by Counterpoint Research.
“The recognition that true wireless hearables are the most useful and convenient smartphone accessories is spreading fast among consumers. The elimination of inconvenient wires, sophisticated designs with advanced features such as active noise cancellation is proving a significant purchase motivator,” noted Liz Lee, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.
US accounted for 31 per cent, China grew 44 per cent
Geographically, the US accounted for 31 per cent of the global market and exceeded 10 million units for the first time in a single quarter. China has recently expanded remarkably and grew 44 per cent QoQ (quarter on quarter) in Q3.
“Since new powerful models, such as Apple’s AirPods Pro, Amazon Echo Buds, Microsoft Surface Earbuds, and Jabra Elite 75t have recently been released, consumer interest is increasing. Given the recent growth momentum and the effect of year-end promotions, such as Singles’ Day, Black Friday and Christmas, the Q4 market is expected to show further high growth. Thus, Counterpoint Research expects the annual market to reach 120 million units in 2019, “read the report.
Apple continues leadership with share falling
While Apple managed to continues its leadership position in this vertical during Q3 2019, its shares fell to 45 per cent in this quarter. The company had enjoyed 53 per cent market share in the previous quarter.
Korea based Samsung, with six per cent share during Q3 2019, fell to third place in this list. It is to be noted here that Samsung was second in this list during Q2 2019. Interestingly, Xiaomi rose to the second position in this list.
“Xiaomi rose to second place from fourth as sales volume expanded significantly mainly from the Chinese market on the evaluation that its Redmi Airdots is a great budget product with a price point around USD 20,” read Counterpoint Research’s report on truw wireless hearables.
The report continued, “JBL and Beats were the following leading brands and ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. The market share of their new premium models, such as the JBL TUNE 120 released in July, and Beats Powerbeats Pro in May, have increased significantly, boosted by favorable market reviews of sound quality and design by consumers.”
Liz Lee, added, “True wireless hearables are also in line with future product strategies focused on voice communications from global tech companies and their efforts to create high-added value. In particular, tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google have joined in order to spread AI voice assistants through mobile devices, and accordingly true wireless hearables will evolve into smarter devices by replacing and enhancing some functions of the current smartphone.”
