AirPods Have Captured One Quarter of Wireless Headphone Spending Since Launching

[BvizioN]

It's not a nice product actually, not compared to other products out there. It looks like an old earPod design .

Yeah, and whats the problem with that? You have hundred of million iPhone that look just like the older iPhones, sold every year. As for it being compare to other products, please find me a nicer one at this price range? And by nicer I don't mean the way the look (that is subjective) but the way they work.
Yes, they don't sit on everybody ears. If EarPods were good for people, these won't fall off their ears. If the odd chapped ears had a problem with EarPods, they should even think go buying AirPods. Simple!

 

[SteveW928]

People had better do a bit of research on epigenetics before they start wearing these things all day long.

 

[2457282]

Slice Intelligence aggregated its data based on anonymized e-receipts from up to 353,926 U.S. online shoppers--the size of the user base varies per chart. But without official figures, it is impossible to determine if the data is accurate--Apple could easily follow up with very different numbers.

In other words, this is new, except that it may not be. So this is an article on the front page that may indeed be totally false and probably should not be on the front page.

On point - From my limited experience with the Airpods before they became my daughter's Airpods, these are really good. They actually stay in your ear, the setup was easy and the connectivity seemed flawless. I am looking forward to getting another pair soon (don't tell my wife or I could end up needing yet another pair).

 

[djcerla]

This is a mega-hit for Apple.

Of market-shifting magnitude.

As usual, skeptics and Verge bloggers proved way wrong.

 

[2ilent8cho]

I really want a pair, but not in white, i want black, and they don't do black

 

[smacrumon]

Cop an earful of that battery ears!

 

[drumcat]

Wait... am I reading this the right way? They claim that Apple has a 1/4 of the market since they started shipping, but they're essentially "bottling up" all of the pre-sales orders and dumping them into post-sales conditions?

Great and all, but seems misleading a bit...

 

[Rogifan]

Isn't Slice Intelligence basically garbage?

 

[Swazaloo]

Apple really did a great job with AirPods, they are fantastic!

 

[blacktape242]

so i decided to get a pair after holding out, i was able to pick some up at my local store, which was pretty nice. so far I'm quite impressed with everything. I will say this is a product I had lots of reservations about, I've been proved wrong with this one.

 

[SteveW928]

Folks... Apple was doing ear-bud headphones long before Beats was even imagined.

 

[DevNull0]

Bose also saw a big increase, from 10% to 16%. What's the cause of that?

It's wireless numbers. The QC35's came out and they're amazing.

 

[joeblow7777]

Please don't give me this "people buy it because of the Apple logo" BS!
Actually now that I think of it, I don't even think it have any Apple Logo
You create a nice product, people will buy it.

They don't need the logo. People recognize the design. And brand recognition is definitely a factor. Believe me, many people weren't even thinking about wireless earbuds until introduced a set.

 

[citysnaps]

.
Hold on a second... I thought they were a massive fail because TC doesn't release sales numbers? And and and, Apple is withholding inventory to invigorate demand due to lousy sales? Yeah, that's it...

 

[LordVic]

I'm not terribly surprised. The Apple airPods aren't terrible. The pairing for both Apple devices and Android devices appears to be nice and easy. The quality is decent enough (wont suit audiophiles, but they don't use wireless bluetooth anyways)

 

[pelegri]

Looking forward to testing one...

I hope they are eventually able to replace the hearing aids. Pretty much everybody will eventually need a hearing aid (I'm borderline); that is a huge market and the current devices are way too expensive and of limited capability. Sure, modern hearing aids are tiny, but, give Airpods a few years... Plus it would remove any lingering negative preconceptions about hearing aids.

 

[manu chao]

This doesn't actually look great... Apple owns Beats. So they cannibalized their own sales, but the real winner was Bose. Their segment of the market increased during this same time period. Not much to celebrate if you're Apple.

This just points to a problem with the stagnant Beats lineup. Beats X will help, but the PowerBeats need a big overhaul to make them a more competitive sport / workout headphone (and just adding the W1 chip isn't enough), and the studio monitors need a big overhaul. The new Bose QC 35 is far superior to those Beats Studio Wireless cans. The new Bose SoundSports are great...much better than the PowerBeats.

Apple (incl. Beats) increased their market share from 24.1 to 41.4% and Bose from 10.5 to 16.1%. Apple increased their market share by 72% and Bose by 53% or by 17.3 percentage points vs 5.6 percentage points. In terms of actual sales (not percentages) both their increases were most likely noticeably higher since the Airpods most likely created additional volume.

You could look at particular parts of the market (eg, over-ear headphones), and Bose might have stolen some volume from Apple here, but we don't really have any data on that. If we were to make the assumption that Airpod sales were all additional than the total market increased by 26%. This would mean Beats sales declined by 20%. But in the end, Apple cannibalising itself is not something to be too worried about. Better to do it yourself instead of something else.

 

[foxcub6]

The wireless headphone market has steadily grown over the past year, new data from research firm Slice Intelligence suggests.

In the U.S. last month, an estimated 75% of revenue from headphones sold online came from wireless models, up from 50% in December 2015, according to Slice Intelligence. Apple's new AirPods led the way, capturing an estimated 26% share of online revenue in the wireless headphone market since launching on December 13.

AirPods stole the top spot from Beats, which took an estimated 15.4% of online revenue in the wireless headphone market, down from 24.1% between the start of 2015 and December 13. Given it owns Beats, Apple appears to have actually taken nearly 40% of online revenue in the market since launching AirPods.

Slice Intelligence said wireless headphone spending on AirPods launch day was ten times greater than the pre-holiday average for 2016. December 13 was also the largest single day of online headphone spending last year, according to the research firm, topping Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday.

The research suggests 85% of shoppers who purchased AirPods are male, of which 35% are young millennials. Female buyers tended to skew older, with 38% falling in the baby boomer generation. The gender data is based on 2,871 U.S. online shoppers who purchased AirPods between December 13 and December 31.

Apple has not disclosed AirPods sales, with CEO Tim Cook only vaguely claiming the wireless headphones have been a "runaway success" amid "a great holiday" period. AirPods remain estimated to ship in 6 weeks in the U.S. as Apple said it is working to fulfill orders as fast as possible.

Slice Intelligence aggregated its data based on anonymized e-receipts from up to 353,926 U.S. online shoppers--the size of the user base varies per chart. But without official figures, it is impossible to determine if the data is accurate--Apple could easily follow up with very different numbers.

Article Link: AirPods Have Captured One-Fourth of Wireless Headphone Spending Since Launching

All very well as interest is high let's all wait u till six months and see where they are in the charts .currently I've got jaybird freedom earbuds cordless and so far enjoy them , the Apple AirPods look good charge well in the case but all very well but how do they sound ?

 

[GeneralChang]

From what I hear they sound like excellent wireless headphones, but holy cow...

 

[npmacuser5]

Not a fan of Ear Pods in general. However if I change, these are the ones I will purchase.

 

[4jasontv]

Apple (incl. Beats) increased their market share from 24.1 to 41.4% and Bose from 10.5 to 16.1%. Apple increased their market share by 72% and Bose by 53% or by 17.3 percentage points vs 5.6 percentage points. In terms of actual sales (not percentages) both their increases were most likely noticeably higher since the Airpods most likely created additional volume.

You could look at particular parts of the market (eg, over-ear headphones), and Bose might have stolen some volume from Apple here, but we don't really have any data on that. If we were to make the assumption that Airpod sales were all additional than the total market increased by 26%. This would mean Beats sales declined by 20%. But in the end, Apple cannibalising itself is not something to be too worried about. Better to do it yourself instead of something else.

I might have misunderstood the article, but I didn't think we were looking at market share
Isn't this talking about market revenue?

I have considered headphones for the most part disposable, preferring to spend under $10 for mine. I haven't spent more than $20 on Bluetooth headphones and I don't see any of the brand's I use listed.

 

[TallManNY]

This is a mega-hit for Apple.

Of market-shifting magnitude.

As usual, skeptics and Verge bloggers proved way wrong.

Yep, another market dominated by Apple. Profit levels probably skew even more in Apple's favor than revenue. AirPods are just getting started. Very few folks have them, they are back ordered SIX weeks, and they aren't generally available in the stores.

Next year Apple needs to make another size though or another shape so that they fit in more ears. I think a slightly large pair would fit snugger in my ear instead of loose. Though I've never had one fall out unless it was first hit.

 

[manu chao]

I might have misunderstood the article, but I didn't think we were looking at market share
Isn't this talking about market revenue?

I have considered headphones for the most part disposable, preferring to spend under $10 for mine. I haven't spent more than $20 on Bluetooth headphones and I don't see any of the brand's I use listed.

It's share of the revenue, or market share by value. It is not unit market share.

 

[filmantopia]

Bose also saw a big increase, from 10% to 16%. What's the cause of that?

Probably the QC35.

 

[DigitalCK]

Why isn't this in units, not $?

Of course expensive units make up the higher portion of sales.... Skullcandy and the like have to sell 2-5 units for every airpods unit. Or double-triple that for Bose.