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AirPods held a disproportionately large share of the global wireless headset market in 2020, according to a new report by Strategy Analytics.

airpods-pro-in-case.jpg


With sales of over 300 million units, the True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Bluetooth headset sales market grew by almost 90 percent last year. Apple's AirPods own almost half of the entire market, with the rest being made up of a large number of companies with individually small shares.

strategy-analytics-global-wireless-headset-market-vendors.jpg


In spite of Apple's dominance, Strategy Analytics notes that its lead is shrinking as competition intensifies:

"Apple maintained a commanding lead in the TWS segment in 2020, but its commanding share is shrinking as competition intensifies. Strong competition is expected from Xiaomi, Samsung, and Huawei in 2021," said Ken Hyers, Director at Strategy Analytics. "The TWS headset market is already hugely overcrowded and despite a strong sales outlook, there will inevitably be consolidation in the years ahead."

It is expected that there is still "plenty of potential in the broader Bluetooth headset market," due to low penetration and an install base that remains small. According to Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics, "less than one in ten people own a Bluetooth headset globally, so there is still significant room for growth." In addition to this, as vendors move away from bundling wired headsets with new smartphones, Strategy Analytics foresees considerable growth potential in the market.

Article Link: AirPods Overwhelmingly Dominate Global Wireless Headset Market
 
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iZac

macrumors 68030
Apr 28, 2003
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And now I have a pair of B&O E5 and AirPods with dead batteries, useful to neither man nor beast. while I have wired sets of B&O H6, form2 and some cheap Grados which still work perfectly. My new MW60s will be used in wired mode for as long as humanly possible.

Wake up, Soylent Green is People!
 

otternonsense

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Jul 25, 2016
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With good reason. The AirPods Pro might be the most versatile and handy true wireless earbuds out there. And after the Spatial Audio update they got a noticeable bump in sound quality.

PS. I also have the Sennheiser Momentum TW2 and even though they destroy the APP in sound quality it's cumbersome to switch modes and the call quality is totally off, so I default back to the APP.
 
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Ateam043

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Jan 8, 2015
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AirPods held a disproportionately large share of the global wireless headset market in 2020, according to a new report by Strategy Analytics.

airpods-pro-in-case.jpg


With sales of over 300 million units, the True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Bluetooth headset sales market grew by almost 90 percent last year. Apple's AirPods own almost half of the entire market, with the rest being made up of a large number of companies with individually small shares.

strategy-analytics-global-wireless-headset-market-vendors.jpg


In spite of Apple's dominance, Strategy Analytics notes that its lead is shrinking as competition intensifies:



It is expected that there is still "plenty of potential in the broader Bluetooth headset market," due to low penetration and an install base that remains small. According to Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics, "less than one in ten people own a Bluetooth headset globally, so there is still significant room for growth." In addition to this, as vendors move away from bundling wired headsets with new smartphones, Strategy Analytics foresees considerable growth potential in the market.

Article Link: AirPods Overwhelmingly Dominate Global Wireless Headset Market
Surprised Sony doesn’t have a larger market share. Their XM lineup of headphones are awesome.
 

otternonsense

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Surprised Sony doesn’t have a larger market share. Their XM lineup of headphones are awesome.
I second that, I recently got the XM4 an they are fantastic. The only downside is call and transparency mode quality. If I have to take/make a long call I'll switch to the AirPods Pro, and the smooth handing over between Apple devices is unbeatable.

I cannot speak about the Max, which I find a fundamentally flawed product. I doubt they'll be as successful as their smaller brethren.
 
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Duel

macrumors regular
Jul 31, 2011
141
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McDonald's sells more hamburgers than any other restaurant. Does that make them the best product too?
People go to McDonalds because it’s cheap. funny thing is that AirPods are more expensive than most of these other wireless headsets, which makes your comparison really bad. Apple owns this market for same reason why they own tablet market and smartwatch market, Apple have most valuable users In the market. AirPods pro cost same or more than average Android phone.
 

Contact_Feanor

macrumors 6502
Jun 7, 2017
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And now I have a pair of B&O E5 and AirPods with dead batteries, useful to neither man nor beast. while I have wired sets of B&O H6, form2 and some cheap Grados which still work perfectly. My new MW60s will be used in wired mode for as long as humanly possible.

Wake up, Soylent Green is People!
you can go to the apple store and get battery service for your AirPods
 
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aesc80

macrumors 68020
Mar 24, 2015
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Nothing surprising here. Seems like nearly any accessory will reach for the tops with Apple (and to be clear, accessory to iPhone directly. HomePod isn't a direct accessory.)
 

ian87w

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Feb 22, 2020
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People go to McDonalds because it’s cheap. funny thing is that AirPods are more expensive than most of these other wireless headsets, which makes your comparison really bad. Apple owns this market for same reason why they own tablet market and smartwatch market, Apple have most valuable users In the market. AirPods pro cost same or more than average Android phone.
Hmm, I disagree.

People go to McDonalds because it's consistent regardless of where you are in the world. In some parts of the world, McDonalds is not cheap at all. But one expect the Big Mac will taste the same whether it's McD in the US or in Singapore.

Prior to AirPods, TWS buds were actually more expensive. It's not until Apple AirPods got so popular that the Chinese OEMs started trying to undercut Apple through cheaper pricing.
 
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drcre8tive

macrumors regular
Jul 28, 2014
140
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New Orleans
I've been very underwhelmed by AirPods Pro performance; reoccurring problems with pairing and only one side working, having to reset them constantly, and poor battery life. It all might be forgivable if they didn't cost so much. My NEXT bluetooth headphones will NOT be AirPods. I'm guessing there are more out there who are like me.
 

SWAON

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Sep 2, 2017
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I can live without AirPods (Pro), can't say the same for the new upcoming new Macs.. I want to forget Intel exists.
 

progx

macrumors 6502a
Oct 3, 2003
831
969
Pennsylvania
After these PowerBeats Pro die off, I may consider the AirPods Pro, but I'm reluctant since I had issues with Apple's old EarPods in my ear lobes. I don't think the Beats line will be around for much longer... judging by these graphs.

In regards to the article, I'm not surprised and I see them in so many places. It didn't take Apple too long to take over this market at all.
 
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