Apple Losing Share of Wireless Earbuds Market Despite Growing AirPods Sales

[Baymowe335]

Lol, everyone trying to explain what’s happening to fit their narrative.

Losing market share after you created the market doesn’t mean you aren’t the dominant player anymore.

Apple can double their shipments but with the pie growing so fast with cheaper stuff, it’s unreasonable to expect Apple to keep a dominant percent share. The percent share is totally irrelevant, as Apple has taught you with their iPhone share. What matters is making the best product in which all others aspire to be.

 

[SSDGUY]

Glad more options are coming along. Just got a set of AirPod pros on the EDU discount ($99) w/ a laptop purchase. I like them. The features are cool and the sound is quite good, though not great, due to the way they still just sit in the ear and don't really seal very well (my background is music performance using pro in-ear monitors, so I'm familiar what a good seal and full range sound is like from an ear-bud). Gave them a shot while doing yard work and they failed miserably — fell out several times. Ordered some AirPod Pro "Ear Hooks" so hopefully those will help keep them in my ears, but the applying/removing them to charge is likely a pain. I'll keep them mainly for stationery activities. Overall, kinda glad I got them, but VERY glad I didn't pay full price.

 

[FelixDerKater]

Throw-away tech at a lasting price... There are too many better alternatives.

 

[Swift]

I love my wired Powerbeats. They take a while to figure out putting them on, but when it's normal they have a surprisingly full sound for something you jam in your ear. And 15 hours of play is pretty good. I much prefer headphones for listening to music, but the Powerveats are comfortable for hours and good enough. And you can answer the phone.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I have the original airpods and I love them. It is so hard to find something I can listen to and still hear what is going on around me. They don’t pressurize my ear canal (and eardrum) and make it so I am a sitting duck in airports and large cities (not that I travel to those anymore...). The airpods pro went away from that though.

 

[caftunes]

Way to many new brands going with TWC

 

[sfmichaelo]

I love my AirPods but I just wish they were louder and more comfortable. After a hour or so they start to hurt my ear. I'm not a big fan of Samsung but I have to say I tried my wife wired Samsung headphones and the sound quality and comfort are much better.

 

[LarryJoe33]

I just replaced my left one for the second time. Right has been replaced twice as well. The noise cancelling is great until the microphone's glue fails and it starts jiggling around with each step you take. That causes a tick or buzz to be generated every time you move.

Yup, that was one of my issues as well. Now I know what it is.

 

[Oblivious.Robot]

Mine died after being forgotten inside the jeans that went through the washer.

I wanted to buy a new pair, but couldn't justify it

 

[Digital Mind]

As far as i'm concerned and from what i see around there is no competition.

Samsung, Google, Microsoft, Jabra, Sony, Amazon, JBL, SOL, Skullcandy and Bose would beg to differ I think

 

[JagRunner]

Lol, everyone trying to explain what’s happening to fit their narrative.

Losing market share after you created the market doesn’t mean you aren’t the dominant player anymore.

Apple can double their shipments but with the pie growing so fast with cheaper stuff, it’s unreasonable to expect Apple to keep a dominant percent share. The percent share is totally irrelevant, as Apple has taught you with their iPhone share. What matters is making the best product in which all others aspire to be.

It's not the best product though. I have Airpods Pro and they don't sound like anything great. Defiantly not worth the $250 price tag. People just buy them because of the ease of connection with iphones....

even then...

Sometimes they don't even want to connect to my iPhone no matter what I do. I end up just sticking them in the case and grabbing my old pair of Bose wired earbuds until whatever issue is going on with them fixes itself.

 

[Baymowe335]

It's not the best product though. I have Airpods Pro and they don't sound like anything great. Defiantly not worth the $250 price tag. People just buy them because of the ease of connection with iphones....

even then...

Sometimes they don't even want to connect to my iPhone no matter what I do. I end up just sticking them in the case and grabbing my old pair of Bose wired earbuds until whatever issue is going on with them fixes itself.

What are the better truly wireless options with noise cancellation for a cheaper price?

 

[Expos of 1969]

I have 2nd generation AirPods I would only buy another pair if the sound quality improved substantially. For the money they are lacking. Apart from that great to use.

You say they are great except the sound quality is substantially lacking. You have a different definition of great than I do

 

[inkswamp]

How many times have we heard this story?

Once upon a time, Apple entered a struggling or uninteresting market with an awesome new take on the existing products that generates massive amounts of excitement. People love it. Sales take off. They temporarily dominate the market share.

Other companies take sudden interest and copy Apple's approach while adding new features, catering to wider audiences and lowering build quality to undercut Apple's prices.

The market share shifts predictably as many, many consumers—excited by this new product—rush in and opt for the less expensive options. ("Apple? Ew... that's for snobs. I just need headphones, not a status symbol!")

Meanwhile, Apple continues along its usual path, gradually adding features or improving quality and slowly gathering loyal customers who appreciate the product though not enough to continue growing market share.

Here's where the headlines about Apple being trounced by competitors comes in. They're alarming headlines. They're scary headlines. Bad news all around. OMG. Apple is in big trouble. Dump your stock. Steve Jobs would never have allowed this. Panic in the streets.

After a year or two, the market cools and the novelty fades and fewer consumers are buying. The market shrinks. Some companies bail out of the new market, chasing whatever is new.

Apple keeps moving at its own pace, mysteriously establishing itself as a reliable provider of a consistently high quality product in a market that has produced a ton of garbage. They continue to grow their audience and keep the product going. They will never achieved dominant market share, but at this point, that is irrelevant.

The end.

 

[ani4ani]

How many times have we heard this story?

Once upon a time, Apple entered a struggling or uninteresting market with an awesome new take on the existing products that generates massive amounts of excitement. People love it. Sales take off. They temporarily dominate the market share.

Other companies take sudden interest and copy Apple's approach while adding new features, catering to wider audiences and lowering build quality to undercut Apple's prices.

The market share shifts predictably as many, many consumers—excited by this new product—rush in and opt for the less expensive options. ("Apple? Ew... that's for snobs. I just need headphones, not a status symbol!")

Meanwhile, Apple continues along its usual path, gradually adding features or improving quality and slowly gathering loyal customers who appreciate the product though not enough to continue growing market share.

Here's where the headlines about Apple being trounced by competitors comes in. They're alarming headlines. They're scary headlines. Bad news all around. OMG. Apple is in big trouble. Dump your stock. Steve Jobs would never have allowed this. Panic in the streets.

After a year or two, the market cools and the novelty fades and fewer consumers are buying. The market shrinks. Some companies bail out of the new market, chasing whatever is new.

Apple keeps moving at its own pace, mysteriously establishing itself as a reliable provider of a consistently high quality product in a market that has produced a ton of garbage. They continue to grow their audience and keep the product going. They will never achieved dominant market share, but at this point, that is irrelevant.

The end.

If only it were true!

 

[compwiz1202]

I really think the whole connection thing is a myth; my cheap ($30) units I mention in my previous post connect instantly; in fact by the time I have lifted them to my ear, I just about hear the end of the word "connected" it is so quick. As I said before, the sound is so close to my £230 Sony's [I have sold these now] it cannot be sensible unless cost is no option or sound quality is the pinnacle of your needs.

Yea that's the same for the $60 pair I got. They were a little finicky to first pair, but after that it is the same as you where they are on and ready once I take them from their case to my ears. And my iPhone even shows the charge in the widget even though the earbuds aren't Apple.

 

[mannyvel]

The low end is really pretty good these days. It's hard to blow $220 when you get a good enough pair for like $40.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Has anyone tried these (https://www.lypertek.com/product-page/lypertek-tevi-truly-wireless-earphones), just curious if people's experience matches this review:

Apple Airpods (2019) vs Lypertek Tevi

True wireless earbuds are a relatively new technology with the first ever pair being unveiled in 2015 by manufacturer, Onkyo and then with Apple thrusting the technology into the mainstream when their first generation Airpods were announced in 2016. Whether you are an Apple fan or not we are all...

www.audio22.co.uk

.

 

[Marshall73]

Throw-away tech at a lasting price... There are too many better alternatives.

Such as? Come on, justify your statement, don’t just pop some throwaway comment without backing it up. I want to see your list of better headphones and your evidence, which has to be detailed personal experience. Otherwise your post is worth nought.

 

[MacBH928]

Yup...all people want is a wireless earphone and if they can get them $100-150 cheaper they sure will do. $250 is insane.

As for reliability, just like any product these are almost first generation and they will improve with time like the original iPods.

 

[iSayuSay]

still don't get the "truly wireless earbuds" thing.

really happy with my oneplus bullets wireless 2. still last me a bit more than 10 hours per charge after using them almost daily for 1.5 years

Because those oneplus bullets, being a neckband style wireless still has an actual power switch so you can turn it off completely when not in use.

That helps a lot with long term battery health. Something like AirPods always get charged and discharged constantly that damages the already tiny cells (until the upcoming iOS 14 features intelligent charging).

My 3 years old Beats X could still play for 3-4 hours between charge, down from 8hours claim when it was new. Now compare that to the AirPods of the same age, it is awesome by comparison.

 

[frownface]

I'm genuinely surprised that the market share for airpods are even that high.

Considering that iPhone market share is around 20%; and airpods are almost exclusively purchased by iphone users. Maybe the insight here is that iPhone users are more likely to purchase wireless earbuds for their phones than android users.

 

[31 Flavas]

I picked up the AirPods shortly after release. When they came out they didn't really have any decent competition. I still use them daily and they work great for me. Honestly though, when they do die, I will 100% be checking out the other options (with ANC) as opposed to the AirPod Pros. IMO they just simply aren't worth the $250.

I'd say this. That's perfectly fine and you're golden - provided - you will only have one single device connected to whatever competing bluetooth earbuds or headphones you buy. Bluetooth for me, is too fiddly beyond that. I think you'll regret your decision if you have any other Apple device you want to use with your competing earbuds.

Most recent BT headsets or earbuds can be bound to multiple devices, but for me, to swap between devices I had to disable bluetooth on the current or primary device. And if you have a third or fourth device paired, for me, it would otherwise just connect to not the device I wanted. So in practice, all the other devices had to be turned off for me to get the connection I wanted.

With AirPods, it was just pick up the device I wanted and tap my AirPods. But, if you're only paring your BT earbuds or headset to one device - go for it.

 

[iSayuSay]

Such as? Come on, justify your statement, don’t just pop some throwaway comment without backing it up. I want to see your list of better headphones and your evidence, which has to be detailed personal experience. Otherwise your post is worth nought.

It's so easy to find a better alternative AirPods, but of course it's not going to be fair because it's not the same category.

I'm talking about neckband style wireless. Apple has Beats X, Powerbeats (non Pro) lineups that's going to outlast an AirPods lifespan while sharing many of its core features. The new corded Powerbeats has 15hours battery life without any need of charging case, it has the same H1 chip and I can turn it off so I don't torture the battery as much.

But for actual, personal evidence, I'm still sporting a 3 years old Beats X for workouts because it still does 3-4 hours of playback between charge. Yep it is down from 8hrs claim when it was new. But then again, when compare it to a 3 years old AirPods that can barely play music for 30minutes? It's awesome.

AirPods also feels silly when I have 3 batteries to check out for essentially a single device, when a neckband wireless could do away with a single battery status.

 

[Ruggy]

So they will increase sales by 33% this year and sell 82 million units but somehow this is spun as being bad news because the market is getting bigger and more mature?