TWS headsets are on the rise, with shipments soaring-EEWORLD

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TWS earphones are very popular. Market research firm Counterpoint Research said that global TWS earphone shipments rose to 27 million pairs in the second quarter. It is expected that global TWS shipments this year will reach 120 million pairs, with an annual growth rate of more than 160%. Apple has become the absolute leader with a 53% market share. However, with the surge in shipments of low-priced models from brands such as Xiaomi and QCY, and the increasing number of competitors with high-priced models, its leading position has been slightly affected.

Apple AirPods became very popular after being launched at the end of 2016, driving up the demand for TWS (True Wireless Stereo) headphones. According to Counterpoint Research data, global TWS headphone shipments were 12.5 million pairs in the fourth quarter of last year, and jumped to 17.5 million pairs in the first quarter of this year, a quarterly increase of 40%. With the launch of Apple's second-generation AirPods at the end of March, TWS headphone shipments in the second quarter jumped to 27 million pairs, with a quarterly increase of 54%. The total shipments in the first half of the year reached 44.5 million pairs, almost equaling the shipments for the whole of last year.

As the United States, the largest market for TWS headphones, continues to grow rapidly, the Chinese market is catching up rapidly due to the successful low-price offensive of local brands such as Xiaomi and QCY. Counterpoint estimates that global shipments of TWS headphones this year will reach 120 million pairs, an increase of more than 160% from about 46 million pairs last year.

As for major brands, Apple is undoubtedly the leading manufacturer of TWS headphones. According to Counterpoint data, Apple's market share in the second quarter was 53%, far ahead of the second-place Samsung's 8%. Other major brands include Jabra, Xiaomi, QCY, Bose and JBL. However, it is worth noting that Apple's absolute leading position has been shaken a little bit as its competitors increase in number.

High-end TWS headphones priced at more than US$150 are still the mainstream of the market. Counterpoint pointed out that in the high-end market, Apple faces competition from Samsung and its subsidiary Beats. Samsung's new TWS headphones Galaxy Buds released in March sold well, allowing Samsung to maintain its market share at 8% in the second quarter. The Powerbeats Pro launched by Apple's subsidiary Beats in May, even though the price is close to US$250, about US$90 higher than AirPods, is still selling well.

As for the affordable models priced below USD 150, Chinese brands are the main ones, with Xiaomi and QCY being the most popular. Xiaomi's AirDots are cost-effective, and coupled with the successful 618 promotion in China, Xiaomi's sales in China have quickly caught up with the TWS headset leader QCY. The quarterly growth rate of TWS headset shipments in China in the second quarter more than doubled, causing AirPods sales to suffer in the Chinese market.

As a result, Apple's market share in TWS headsets was 60% in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year. However, the growth rate of Apple's AirPods shipments in the second quarter did not fully keep up with the overall market growth rate of TWS headsets, which was the main reason why Apple's market share in the second quarter fell by 7 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Chip supplier competition

Technically speaking, TWS means that the mobile phone is connected to the main earphone, and then the main earphone is connected to the slave earphone via Bluetooth wirelessly, realizing the true wireless separation of the left and right channels of Bluetooth, which has put forward many requirements for Bluetooth chip suppliers. However, from the perspective of chip suppliers, there are also many players in the mid-, high- and low-end markets.

In addition to Apple itself, the third party with the most mature technology is CSR, a giant in the Bluetooth audio market (acquired by Qualcomm in August 2015), which is also one of the most mainstream TWS solutions in the market; Airoha AIROHA (a subsidiary of MediaTek, acquired by MTK in February 2017) currently occupies a relatively large share of the Bluetooth audio market and is more acceptable to the public in terms of cost and technology; followed by Hengxuan BES and Realtek. Currently, many large domestic manufacturers are using the BES23 series for development, including Huawei's second generation; others include: Guangzhou Ankai Anyka, Zhuhai Actions, Shanghai BK, Zhuhai Jie Li, RDA, Zhongke Bluexun, etc., but they can also get a small piece of the TWS audio market; even Ziguang ZTE is also attacking TWS headset Bluetooth chips, and its Ivy 5882 is very competitive in both performance and price.

According to the latest report from Asian foreign investors, the hot wireless Bluetooth headset (TWS) in the past two years is facing fierce market competition and will soon become a red ocean. They pointed out in the report that the chips (SOC) of wireless Bluetooth headset (TWS) are currently facing price erosion and market competition, and the risk is currently expanding to a point that cannot be ignored. In their view, the continuous entry of mainland manufacturers is the key factor.

According to them, the number of TWS SoCs shipped by leading manufacturers in mainland China can reach 20 million per month, with an average selling price of less than $0.3. But looking at Taiwan, Realtek shipped about 8 to 10 million units per month in the second quarter, and the monthly shipments in the third quarter are estimated to be 5 to 7 million units, with an average selling price of $1.3 to $1.4, which has no competitive advantage. In addition, the main suppliers in mainland China (referring to Hengxuan) have accepted investments from Alibaba and Xiaomi in July, which will impact Realtek and other suppliers in their efforts to win orders from Xiaomi. Furthermore, the second-generation chips of Airoha, a subsidiary of MediaTek, have also begun to ship, which will stir up the entire TWS chip market. Asian foreign capital also pointed out that Qualcomm has reduced the price of TWS SOC to $1.4 to $1.5, which has quickly pushed the TWS market into a red ocean market.

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