New Delhi, May 4 (IANS): The global True Wireless Stereo (TWS) market is expected to grow 33 per cent year-over-year (YoY) in 2021, reaching 310 million units, a new report said on Tuesday.

According to the Counterpoint Global Hearables (TWS) Market Tracker, in 2020, it grew 78 per cent YoY despite the pandemic-triggered economic downturn.

The market slightly exceeded the initial annual estimate for 2020 to reach 233 million units, mainly driven by the strong performance of low- and mid-price segments.

In terms of brand performance, Apple continued to dominate but its share declined steadily through the year and fell below one-third of the TWS market.

This year, it will remain a leader selling around 84 million units, but still lose share by 4 per cent, the report said.

"Most anticipated is a new release from Apple, it is first in two years. We expect it to be one of the biggest drivers of TWS market growth from Q4 2021 to the next year," Liz Lee, Senior Research Analyst, Counterpoint Research, said in a statement.

Xiaomi and Samsung will follow Apple with shares similar to those in 2020.

Covid-19 impacted TWS production in China early last year, but the situation has improved since then and the production capacity is now at full-utilisation levels, the report said.

In terms of consumer demand, the impact has been limited, as the market has a relatively higher portion of online sales than other tech devices. Besides, more consumers were willing to purchase tech gadgets and accessories to improve their work/study-from-home experiences.

However, the proportion of low- to mid-end model sales has increased faster than expected due to the economic downturn and related uncertainties.