Interestingly, the global smart personal audio market declined by 1.2 per cent to reach 118.8 million units
The smart personal audio market in India grew by 62 per cent in the third quarter of 2021, with 16.6 million units shipped. With this, its worldwide market share now stands at 14 per cent, as per a report by Canalys.
The TWS (True Wireless Stereo) segment was the main driver in India, growing 92 per cent to reach 7.3 million units.
“India has reached a new milestone as the country solidified its position as the third-largest TWS market with a market share of 10 percent,” said Canalys Research Analyst Ashweej Aithal.
Interestingly, the global smart personal audio market declined by 1.2 per cent to reach 118.8 million units. Markets in Western Europe and North America fell 21 per cent and 15 per cent respectively, mainly due to Apple’s shipment slump as consumers waited for the next generation of AirPods.
Globally, the TWS category barely grew, up by just 1.3 per cent to reach 72.2 million units. This was insufficient to offset the decline of wireless headphones and wireless earphones, which decreased by 4.7 per cent and 4.9 per cent, respectively.
Apple maintained its leading global position in TWS, shipping 17.8 million units. Samsung regained second place. Xiaomi moved to third place.
Indian lifestyle electronics giant, boAt, broke into the top five for the first time, shipping 2.8 million units.
“There is no turning back, and Canalys forecasts that TWS growth will accelerate. We expect the next quarter to be the turning point where the TWS category overtakes wireless earphones in shipment numbers in India and other markets. The challenge is to ensure robust supply, given the supply chain bottlenecks and the push to manufacture locally,” added Aithal.
“Audio players, such as Jabra, Sony and JBL, are now taking an increasingly aggressive stance by peppering TWS models across a range of price points,” said Canalys Research Analyst Sherry Jin.
“These players are pressured to lower the average selling price of their TWS devices to make themselves competitive in the market. Together with the release of the third-generation AirPods, the global TWS market is expected to return to robust growth in Q4 in time for the holiday season.”
