According to new market research, Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro helped continue to extend its lead in the “true wireless stereo” market in the third quarter. Apple’s AirPods line has dominated the TWS market for some time, and this continued in the third quarter of 2022. This lead was further extended with the launch of its updated AirPods Pro in September.
According to Canalys, the global smart personal audio market declined for the second consecutive quarter in the third quarter of 2022, with shipments down 4% year-over-year to 113.6 million units. However, TWS was the only subcategory to show growth, up 6 percent year-over-year to a total of 76.9 million units.
Leading the way again this quarter was Apple, whose global shipments grew 34 percent from 17.8 million units in 3Q 2021 to 23.8 million units in 3Q 2022. This high growth also meant an increase in its market share, which grew from 24.6% in Q3 2021 to 30.9% in Q3 2022.
According to analysts, the launch of the AirPods Pro 2 has significantly boosted Apple’s sales in the category, with the model shipping 4.2 million units in the quarter alone, accounting for 20 percent of all AirPods shipped.
Its nearest competitor, Samsung, saw its 8.7 million shipments fall 15 percent to 7.4 million in the third quarter of 2021, dropping its market share from 12 percent to 9.6 percent. Monday’s report said that despite the launch of the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, that drop was shipped in late August and sold at a higher price, “limiting market performance.”
Another major improvement in the top five was boAt-lifestyle, which grew 50 percent to 4.1 million units, compared with 2.8 million a year ago. Xiaomi, in fourth place, saw shipments fall 31 percent year-over-year to 3.4 million, and Skullcandy dropped 4 percent to 2.6 million.
