Canalys, a market research agency, released the global true wireless earbuds (TWS) market data for the first quarter of 2024, which showed that the global TWS shipments in this quarter were as high as 65 million units, and Apple ranked first with a 25% share, but it was the only brand among the top five manufacturers whose shipments declined year-on-year.
In second place is Xiaomi, whose shipments reached 5.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 61%, which is also the first time that Xiaomi has surpassed Samsung in global share. Although Samsung also achieved a year-on-year growth of 3%, its shipments were slightly surpassed by Xiaomi, ranking third.
The Indian brand boAt ranked fourth in the global market with a 5% year-on-year increase of 7% year-on-year due to its outstanding performance in the Indian market. Huawei, on the other hand, due to its excellent performance in the Chinese market, saw a year-on-year increase of 13% in shipments, winning a 3% share and squeezing into the top five.
In the Chinese market, Xiaomi ranked first with a market share of 20%, and its shipments increased by 76% year-on-year; Apple ranks second with a 13% market share; Huawei's shipments increased by 8% year-on-year, ranking third with a share of 12%, which is very close to Apple.
In the African market, the Chinese company Transsion has shown strong dominance, with shipments increasing by 84% year-on-year, firmly occupying the top spot with a market share of 52%.
Although Apple's market share is far ahead in the global market, the main growth is in the Americas and Central and Eastern Europe, and the shipment volume has declined in the context of the overall market growth.
In the domestic market, Huawei is on the verge of surpassing Apple in terms of shipments by increasing the deployment of entry-level TWS products and launching open-back earphones. In addition, Canalys also said that Xiaomi has a strong growth momentum in the TWS market, and there is a chance that it will further close the gap with Apple.