Apple Sees Boost from New Release... Market Share at 30.9%
Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Launched but Price Increased... Samsung Market Share Down 2.4%P
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] In the third quarter wireless earphone market showdown between Apple and Samsung Electronics' premium wireless earphones, Apple emerged as the winner. While Samsung Electronics, ranked second, saw a decline in shipments and market share, first-place Apple significantly increased its numbers, widening the gap.
According to market research firm Canalys on the 9th, the third quarter wireless earphone market recorded shipments of 76.9 million units, a 6% growth compared to the same period last year. Apple shipped 23.8 million units in the third quarter, solidifying its position as the number one in the wireless earphone market. This was a 33.7% increase compared to the same period last year. Its market share expanded by 6.3 percentage points to 30.9% compared to the previous year.
Samsung Electronics retreated. Its third quarter shipments were 7.4 million units, down 14.9% from the same period last year. Even in simple comparison, there is a 16.4 million unit difference in shipments compared to Apple. As shipments decreased, market share also declined. From 12% in the same period last year to 9.6%, a drop of 2.4 percentage points, the gap with Apple widened to more than three times.
Apple greatly benefited from the launch of its new 'AirPods Pro 2'. On the other hand, Samsung Electronics' 'Galaxy Buds2 Pro' was released a month earlier than the AirPods but failed to make a significant impact. Although the Galaxy Buds2 Pro is priced lower than the AirPods Pro 2, analysis suggests that the price increase compared to its predecessor had a major effect. Sherry Jin, a research analyst at Canalys, explained, "The sales increase of Galaxy Buds2 Pro limited the overall market performance of the Galaxy Buds series in the third quarter."
Despite only about eight days of sales being included after the new product launch in the third quarter, the AirPods Pro 2 shipped 4.2 million units, accounting for 17.6% of Apple's total wireless earphone shipments in the quarter, driving Apple's market share. This means an average daily sale of 525,000 units of AirPods Pro 2.
The top two spots in the wireless earphone market were occupied by premium models, but ranks three to five were held by mid-to-low-priced products. Third place was taken by Indian brand boAt, with shipments of 4.1 million units in the third quarter and a market share of 5.4%. Xiaomi shipped 3.4 million units, recording a market share of 4.4%, slipping one rank to fourth place. Fifth place was held by the American brand Skullcandy, with shipments of 2.6 million units and a market share of 3.3%.
According to Counterpoint Research's wireless earphone market report, last year the wireless earphone market size reached 299.8 million units, and it is expected to grow rapidly at an average annual rate of 21% until 2025. However, the share of premium models priced above $150 in the total market has decreased from 37% in the first quarter of 2020 to 30% in the first quarter of this year. During the same period, the $50-$100 market grew from 12% to 19%, and the under $50 market increased from 34% to 36%.
Apple and Samsung differentiate themselves from mid-to-low-priced models by emphasizing Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) features. Counterpoint Research forecasts that as competition intensifies in the premium market, differentiation will focus on features such as battery life in the future.
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