New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) The size of the global market for true wireless hearables reached 27 million units in Q2 2019, growing 56 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), according to industry tracker Counterpoint Research.
While all major regions, including the US, have shown high growth, China has more than doubled due to the success of its 618 online shopping festival and the acceleration of demand for true wireless hearables, the report said.
"The true wireless hearables market marked a steep growth in the second quarter. Given such a growth momentum in the first half of the year, we expect the annual size of the true wireless hearables market for 2019 to reach 120 million units," Liz Lee, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, said in a statement.
"In addition to the continued growth of existing major markets, the consumer demand for budget true wireless hearables when purchasing a smartphone will become another growth engine, especially in China," Lee added.
Apple, the top global brand, continued its leadership by expanding sales of the second-generation AirPods launched in late March, but its market share fell to 53 per cent in Q2 from 60 per cent in the previous quarter due to the growth of the second-tier players.
Driven by the strong sales of Galaxy Buds launched in early March, Samsung secured its second place with an 8 per cent market share, the same as that in the previous quarter.
In addition, the brands that have been prominent in Q2 are Xiaomi and Beats. The sales of Xiaomi Redmi Airdots, newly launched in April, surged with a favourable market review as a great budget product. Xiaomi is now aggressively catching up with QCY, the former leader in the low-end market.
PowerBeats Pro, launched by Apple's affiliate Beats in May as its first true wireless hearables, has successfully settled in the premium market with good reviews of sound quality and design. However, it is more expensive than second-generation AirPods.
While premium models, around $150 and above, still ranked high in the best-sellers list, QCY T1 and Xiaomi Redmi Airdots followed closely.
New rising stars like Huawei Freebuds Lite, JBL TUNE 120, and PowerBeats Pro also showed a solid performance.