A new report from Canalys indicates that Apple remains the leader in the global headphone market, surpassing Samsung and other individual competitors, although China is beginning to pose a serious threat.
According to him latest report from analytics and statistics firm, Canalysthe third quarter of 2024 the global smart personal audio market saw a significant rise. Total shipments were 126 million units, a year-on-year growth of 15%. There are several indexes that are for and against Applethe best is that it remains undisputed market leader above Samsung thanks to AirPods and Beats.
China represents the biggest competitive threat to the smart personal audio market
Canalys indicates that Mainland China is the leader in shipments of open format devices, capturing 59% of the global sharein addition to covering other regions such as North America and Western Europe. Audio solutions for active outdoor lifestyles are the reason why these devices have been more popular in these territories.
Cynthia Chen, research director at Canalys, notes that “the open form factor device segment was a notable growth area in the quarter.” They are aligning alongside a growth in health and fitness trendswhich has greatly contributed to the fact that the audio market has had consecutive growth in several quarters since the same period but from 2023.
Sub-region and category level shipment growth of global smart personal audio market
Los most requested devices are those that are classified in the category of Open Wireless Stereo (OWS) where Chinese brands such as Shokz and Sanag have managed to be the main suppliers. This could be a serious threat to Apple in the future since Canalys has stated that they could expand rapidly in the international market. Your strategy for success in the short term is launch entry-level products attractive to consumers. The subsequent challenge will be to have offers of better quality and innovation that allow them to continue competing.
These brands combined shipments of almost 71 million unitswhich represent 56.1% of the market share. They managed to grow 15.3% year-on-year. One of the competitors that is proving to “focus on technological innovation and differentiation” is JBL with its latest touchscreen charging cases.
Apple consolidates itself with its AirPods and Beats, although it has a drop in growth
Global smart personal audio shipments and growth Q3 2024
In recent months, Apple launched a new generation of AirPods 4 divided into two ranges, one entry-level and one intermediate, although offering active noise cancellation. In addition, the AirPods Pro 2 continue to be updated with new features via firmware although users are waiting for a third generation. As a result of these launches, Apple has managed to remain the shipment leader in the smart personal audio market with 21.3 million shipmentswhich leaves a share of almost 17%. It registered a fall compared to the same period but last year of 9.2%.
In the case of shipments in the TWS (True Wireless Stereo) market achieved shipments of almost 20 million unitsa share of 21.4% although with a similar decrease (9.3%) compared to the same period in 2023.
Shipments and growth of the TWS market worldwide Q3 2024
Samsung is very far away from Apple and is placed in second place on both lists. It registers a market share of 8.7% and 9% in the smart personal audio and TWS markets globally. The brand that occupies the last place is Sony with 4.4% of the market share.
Apple must be aware of the movements that Chinese manufacturers make by 2025a year in which we can most likely see a third generation of AirPods Pro, the upcoming Powerbeats Pro 2, among some other headphone renewals.
Finally, Canalys concludes that in “this crowded market, each of the suppliers must prioritize advances in basic technologies such as active audio cancellation and spatial audio.” It is something that Apple has been able to do with the new generation of AirPods, although some users are not entirely satisfied. On the other hand, “it is worth exploring options for striking colors, cases translucent fabrics and collaborations with brands to attract consumers” highlights Canalys as a central point to attract the attention of consumers and strengthen markets, both new and established.
New colors of the Beats Studio Pro x Kim Kardashian
Beats’ options have been attractive to the point of collaborating with entertainment and sports celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Shohei Ohtani. This range of Apple headphones is the one that has proven to be solid in terms of customizing the products themselves. Will Apple succeed in maintaining the top spot in the smart personal audio market?
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Source: ipadizate.com
