The smart personal audio market in India grew 62% in Q3 2021, according to a new report published by global research firm, Canalys. There were 16.6 million units shipped, pushing the segment to a worldwide market share of 14%.
On the other hand, globally the smart personal audio market declined by 1.2% to reach 118.8 million units.
Markets in Western Europe and North America fell 21% and 15% respectively, mainly due to Apple’s shipment slump as consumers waited for the next generation of AirPods.
This was insufficient to offset the decline of wireless headphones and wireless earphones, which decreased by 4.7% and 4.9%, respectively.
The TWS (True Wireless Stereo) segment was the main driver in India, growing 92% to reach 7.3 million units.
“India has reached a new milestone as the country solidified its position as the third largest TWS market with a market share of 10%,” said Canalys Research Analyst Ashweej Aithal in a statement.
“The strong performance is thanks to local brands, such as boAt, Noise and Boult, as well as smartphone players, such as Realme, rapidly growing their TWS shipments,” he said.
Apple maintained its leading global position in TWS, shipping 17.8 million units. But its shipments declined by nearly a third, as compared to a year ago. This was attributed to a significant drop in demand as consumers waited for the third-generation devices.
Entry-level TWS devices have come a long way, improving in many aspects and increasing their appeal. “There is no turning back, and Canalys forecasts that TWS growth will accelerate,” added Aithal. “We expect the next quarter to be the turning point where the TWS category overtakes wireless earphones in shipment numbers in India and other markets. The challenge is to ensure robust supply, given the supply chain bottlenecks and the push to manufacture locally.”
For more details, visit the Canalys newsroom
