Canalys: Smart audio market up 10% in Q2, affordable TWS models are main drivers

The worldwide smart audio market had a record quarter in terms of total shipments with a 10.6% year-on-year growth as per the latest Canalys report. A total of 106 million units were shipped during the April-June period - the highest for a Q2 period so far.

Smart audio includes wireless headphones and earphones with a physical wire connecting the two earpieces and true wireless earbuds that don’t have connecting wires between the two speakers and each side can function independently.

Open-ear wireless and TWS earphones were the key contributors to the smart audio segment’s rise in Q2. TWS buds in the sub-$50 price segment accounted for more than 50% of the entire market during the quarter.

Apple (including Beats) was the leading vendor during the period with 18 million units shipped and a 17.1% market share. Samsung (including Harman subsidiaries) came in second with 8.1 million shipments and a 7.6% market share. Indian brand Boat Audio rounded out the top three with 6.7 million shipments and an estimated 6.3% of the global market.

Xiaomi was the fourth leading brand in the world with 5.2 million shipments and a market share just shy of 5%. It was also the only brand in the top five with a positive annual growth of 40%. Sony was the fifth brand by shipments with 4 million units and a 3.7% market share.

Source