Market analysis of global TWS headset industry in 2019: explosive growth of shipments airpods series leads the development mainstream

Potential market size of TWS headset reaches 100 billion level

TWS is the abbreviation of "true wireless stereo". TWS earphones do not need wired connection. The left and right earphones form a stereo system through Bluetooth, which improves listening, speaking and wearing. The external part of the real wireless Bluetooth headset completely discards the way of wire connection, and can be worn with one or two ears.

TWS earphones have brought extreme convenience to consumers. With the gradual resolution of pain points such as transmission, endurance and price, TWS earphones will explode in 2019 under the guidance of airpods. TWS headset has low penetration and high growth, with a potential market scale of 100 billion.

1. Bluetooth 5.0 and smart phone no hole boost the development of TWS headset

In 2016, Bluetooth Technology Alliance officially released the latest Bluetooth 5.0 technology standard in London. Official said that the new Bluetooth 5.0 standard will be far superior to the Bluetooth 4.2le version in performance, including the effective transmission distance will be times of the 4.2le version.

Bluetooth 5.0 performance is improved in all aspects. Transmission ability: Bluetooth 5.0 has faster and farther transmission ability under low power consumption mode, with transmission rate twice that of Bluetooth 4.2, effective transmission distance four times that of Bluetooth 4.2, and data packet capacity eight times that of Bluetooth 4.2; indoor navigation: supports indoor positioning and navigation function, and can realize indoor positioning with accuracy less than 1 meter with WiFi; smart home: bottom optimization for IOT And strive to serve smart home with lower power consumption and higher performance.

At the same time, the high transmission bandwidth of Bluetooth 5.0 also makes it possible for TWS real wireless Bluetooth headset to make bilateral calls.

Bluetooth 5.0 performance and analysis

Bluetooth 5.0 performance and analysis

Source: prepared by prospective industry research institute

Now more and more iPhone and Android devices gradually cancel the 3.5mm headphone hole, and combine it with the usb-c / lightning port charging plug-in hole into one.

Due to the reduction of cell phone openings, charging and listening to songs can only be one of the two options, and a lot of wires and adapters of wired headphones are often intertwined, causing many inconvenience. In contrast, TWS headset has many advantages: it adopts wireless structure design, discards wired troubles, and is more convenient to carry; it realizes wireless stereo, improves sound quality and connection stability; its endurance is improved; multiple sensors, artificial intelligence assistant and smart home are used in the headset; it can be used alone and shared in various ways.

2. Explosive growth of global TWS headset market shipments

TWS is the abbreviation of true wireless stereo. Unlike the traditional Bluetooth headset, TWS headset does not need physical wire connection. The left and right headphones form a stereo system through Bluetooth, and the phone can be connected to one receiving terminal, which will send the sound source to another receiving terminal wirelessly to form stereo. Generally speaking, TWS earphones are not charged through micro USB interface, so they are basically equipped with portable boxes with charging and storage functions. Some portable boxes also have mobile power supply integrated inside, which brings the ultimate convenience to consumers.

Since Apple launched the first generation of airpods at the end of 2016, the market heat has been increasing, and the shipment volume continues to exceed expectations. According to the statistics of counter point research, in 2016, the global TWS headphone shipments were only 9.18 million, reaching 46 million in 2018, with an average compound annual growth rate of 124%.

In the first half of 2019, a total of 44.5 million TWS earphones were shipped. Counter point expects that in 2019, the global TWS earphones will be 120 million. In addition, early users of airpods have been faced with the inducement of obvious attenuation of airpods battery endurance and new functions. It is expected to set off a wave of replacement. Under the double pull of replacement and new purchase, it is estimated that the TWS earphones will be shipped in 2020 The annual growth rate will reach 91.6%.

Statistics and forecast of global TWS headset market shipments in 2016-2020

Statistics and forecast of global TWS headset market shipments in 2016-2020

Data source: collected by prospective industry research institute

According to data released by IDC, China's headphone market developed rapidly in 2018, with a shipment volume of 16.07 million sets, up 146.3% year on year. On the one hand, in order to meet the development trend of market intelligence, headphone manufacturers gradually equip their products with the function of activating voice assistant; on the other hand, mobile phone manufacturers have launched headphones with the function of activating voice assistant, making "mobile phone + headset", "watch + headset" form a new mode of voice interaction in mobile scenes.

According to data released by IDC, in the second quarter of 2019, China's wearable device Market shipped 23.07 million units, up 34.3% year on year. Among the wearable devices, 7.45 million headphone devices were shipped, an increase of 113% year on year, of which real wireless accounted for 66% of the headphone market in China and became an important part. Real wireless headset is getting more and more popular with consumers for its convenient and free use experience.

Analysis of China's headphone equipment shipment structure in the second quarter of 2019

Analysis of China's headphone equipment shipment structure in the second quarter of 2019

Data source: collected by prospective industry research institute

3. Airpods lead the way

According to the statistical data of counter point research, in 2018, airpods shipped about 35 million, accounting for 75% of the global total. In the first three quarters of 2019, the global TWS headphone shipments were 17.5 million, 27 million and 33 million pairs respectively, of which airpods series accounted for 60%, 53% and 45% respectively. With the major global consumer markets in the fourth quarter of 2019, such as "double 11", "black five" and "double Dan" large-scale promotions, it is expected that the proportion of airpods shipments in 2019 will reach 50%.