Apple Holds Pole Position in the 'True' Wireless Headphone Category
Headphones Market Research, Analysis and Commentary
Futuresource, in its latest assessment of the headphones landscape, points out that the true wireless segment has grown 178% year-on-year, with Apple achieving a whopping 80% market share.
According to this latest market update, Q1 2018 saw true wireless account for 31% of all in-ear product revenues in Q1 2018. As the average retail price continued to drop from $171 to $161 in Q1 2018, Apple AirPods maintained their dominance of the true wireless scene, compelling competitors to introduce lower-priced products at <$150.
Wireless capability had already penetrated 45% of headphones in Q1 and is instrumental in driving further uptake for many other features and form factors, including true wireless, neckbands, noise-cancelling and additional smart features.
On a worldwide basis, the overall headphones market totalled 79.1 million units in Q1, with retail revenues topping $4 billion. "Brands are enthusiastically adding features, resulting in a 17% rise in the average retail price to $52. Across all categories, the highest price increase is in over-ear products, due to the impact of noise-cancelling and wireless technologies," commented Rasika D'Souza, Senior Market Analyst at Futuresource Consulting."
Amongst other findings in the Headphones Quarterly Report for Q1, Futuresource notes that JBL achieved 100% year-on-year growth and is growing its presence across all segments, including in/on-ear, wired/wireless and sport.
About the author
Rasika joined Futuresource Consulting in 2012 after completing her MSc in Marketing from Cranfield University. She started as an analyst in the CE hardware team, specialising in audio. She currently heads up the personal electronics team and leads the headphones/ hearables, wearables, mobile and gaming services.
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