India’s TWS market up 92% in Q3 despite global slowdown: Canalys

The True Wireless Stereo (TWS) segment in India recorded a staggering 92% on-year growth in Q3, according to latest Canalys estimates, shipping 7.3 million units.

The growth in the TWS segment drove India’s smart personal audio market to rise 62% with 16.6 million units shipped. India now commands 14% of the worldwide market share.

However, the overall global smart personal audio market shrank 1.2% to 118.8 million units. The decline was the highest in western Europe at 21%, followed by North America at 15%, mainly due to a slump in Apple’s shipments. 

“India has reached a new milestone as the country solidified its position as the third largest TWS market with a market share of 10%,” Canalys Research Analyst Ashweej Aithal said.

“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.” 

The TWS category grew 1.3% to reach 72.2 million units globally. This figure was insufficient to offset the decline in wireless headphones and wireless earphones shipments, which declined 4.7% and 4.9%, respectively.

Apple remained the leading player in the TWS segment with 17.8 million shipments despite a nearly 30% decline compared with the year-ago period due to a drop in demand as consumers waited for its third-generation devices.

Samsung regained second place on the back of strong performance from the Galaxy Buds2. Xiaomi moved into third place, while domestic player boAt broke into the top five with 2.8 million units shipped. Edifier finished in fifth place with 2.7 million units.

Entry-level TWS devices have improved in several aspects and increased their appeal.

Aithal said: “There is no turning back, and Canalys forecasts that TWS growth will accelerate.”

“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.”

The rising demand for TWS is also leading to increased competition as companies try to capture market share.

Canalys Research Analyst Sherry Jin said: “Audio players, such as Jabra, Sony and JBL, are now taking an increasingly aggressive stance by peppering TWS models across a range of price points.”

“These players are pressured to lower the average selling price of their TWS devices to make themselves competitive in the market. Together with the release of the third-generation AirPods, the global TWS market is expected to return to robust growth in Q4 in time for the holiday season.”