Zhitong Financial APP learned that Canalys posted that after several consecutive quarters of strong double-digit growth, TWS shipments seemed to have peaked, with the growth rate falling to 6.4%. In the second quarter of 2021, only 58.3 million units were shipped in the second quarter of 2021, the lowest in three years. In the second quarter of 2021, the global personal smart audio market shipped 99.8 million units, an overall increase of 4.7%.
As the market leader in personal smart audio, the growth rate of Apple Inc (AAPL.US) has declined for the first time and shows signs of slowing. Shipments of AirPods TWS devices fell 25.7% to 15 million units in the second quarter of 2021, leading to slower-than-usual growth in the TWS market as a whole in the quarter.
Apple Inc still maintains a leading position in the TWS category, but the decline in AirPods shipments caused Apple Inc's market share to fall below 30 per cent in the second quarter of 2021.
Jason Low, research manager at Canalys, said: "part of the reason for Apple Inc's sharp decline in shipments is to use the data from last year's strong quarter as a reference for this quarter. Despite its ups and downs, Apple Inc's main advantage is still obvious-it has a user ecosystem with high product loyalty and is one of the few smart device manufacturers that have more influence than content itself. Apple Inc combines this advantage of the latter with its audio hardware to create a unique experience. The new AirPods released in the second half of the year will drive the market again, but its increasingly saturated iOS and macOS user base will also cause market concern. "
XIAOMI (01810) regained the second place in the TWS market from Samsung, with shipments of 5.3 million and 5.2 million respectively. "XIAOMI and Samsung have been neck-and-neck since the end of 2019," said Cynthia Chen, a research analyst at Canalys. XIAOMI is undoubtedly moving towards a higher price range, offering more high-quality TWS products, but Samsung is also catching up by supporting its own brand and sub-brand TWS products, especially JBL of Harman subsidiary. "
Skullcandy's market share reached 7 per cent, an all-time high and jumped to fourth place for the first time. Skullcandy's success comes from its active commitment to cost-effective and lively TWS product lines, such as Dime, Jib and Sesh, whose target customer base is younger than those targeted by Samsung or Apple Inc. By partnering with Bragi, Skullcandy claims to provide a better hands-free call experience. But the most important thing is to ensure that the user experience meets expectations, not just on marketing hype. " Low added.
The other two categories of the personal smart audio market are wireless headsets and wireless neck-hanging headphones, which increased by 3.0% and 2.1% respectively, with shipments of 15 million and 26.5 million units, respectively.