India TWS Shipments Grow 723% YoY In Q3 2020: Counterpoint Research

India’s TWS market growth soared 723% YoY in Q3 2020, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s IoT service. It is one of the few segments which managed to defy the impact of economic slowdown, reaching its highest ever growth in shipments for a single quarter.

Research Associate Anam Padha said, “Inventory build-up prior to the festive season, along with a good number of new launches and entry of new players like OnePlus, vivo and Infinix, drove this substantial TWS growth. Besides, work-from-home and study-from-home due to the COVID-19 pandemic continued to boost demand.”

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Talking about smartphone OEMs’ IoT strategy, Research Analyst Shilpi Jain said, “Most of the smartphone OEMs now have entered the CIOT segment and are expanding their TWS portfolios across price tiers to benefit from the huge potential it holds. Increase in ‘stay at home’ activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic have also boosted the demand for TWS. The smartphone OEMs have managed to carve a significant place for themselves in the segment by leveraging their already established brand awareness and sales channels.”

Discussing the ASP for TWS, Jain added, “India TWS ASP increased for the first time since 2019, largely due to the increase in Apple AirPods shipments and new launches in higher price tiers. Apple’s decision to not include wired EarPods with its new iPhone 12 series evidently helped it to increase the demand for AirPods.”

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Key Takeaways for India’s TWS Market:

• boAt had a great start in Q3 2020 as it became the No. 1 player by expanding its portfolio and launching many devices across price tiers during the quarter. Its Airdopes 441 model grabbed the second spot in the top 5 list for model shipments, riding on its affordable pricing and features like water resistance, better sound quality, USB Type-C charging and up to 25 hours of battery life.

• Xiaomi maintained its second spot in Q3 2020 with 16% share. Its newly launched Redmi Earbuds 2C became the top-selling model in the initial quarter of launch, thanks to the promotional price of INR 999 and better features, including improved call quality, comfortable fit and multi-function button.
• realme dropped to the third spot with 12% market share. This was most likely because of no new launches during Q3 2020 and the entry of new players presenting customers with good alternatives. Nevertheless, two of its models – Buds Q and Buds Air Neo – managed to retain their spots in the top 5 list for best-selling models.
• JBL grabbed the fourth position with 8% share in Q3 2020, compared to 15% in Q2 2020. The brand witnessed a drop in its share due to increasing competition and more consumers preferring value offerings due to economic slowdown.
• Apple, which had scooped out the biggest market share in 2019, managed to restore its spot in the top 5 brands list during this quarter, increasing its share to 6%. Its AirPods (2nd Gen) model also found a place in the top 5 list for model shipments.