India’s True Wireless Stereo (TWS) market grew 55 per cent Year-over-Year in Q3 2021 to reach the highest shipments ever at around 8 million, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s IoT service.
Brands pushed high amounts of inventory into the retail channels ahead of the festive season. Additionally, new entrants, discount offers, sales events and brands expanding into the low-price segments with feature-rich TWS offerings were the major factors driving the segment's success, leading to TWS growth in India during the quarter.
According to Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain, “The Indian TWS market witnessed highest ever shipments in a single quarter in Q3 2021 driven by the strong festive planning, new launches and multiple sales events on major e-commerce platforms as well as brands’ own websites."
"We also saw the maximum number of new launches in Q3 2021 with a major emphasis on the low- to mid-price segments (less than ₹2,999). In this quarter, brands like realme and 1MORE followed the sub-brand strategy with the launch of Dizo and Omthing respectively to expand their reach and enhance competitiveness," added Jain.
“In terms of features, there was an increased emphasis on Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and gaming. Key players such as Truke and Ptron came up with their first ever gaming TWS earbuds. Besides, prominent brands introduced various new models in the premium segment as well for tech enthusiasts. For instance, the OnePlus Buds Pro, Samsung Galaxy Buds 2, Nothing Ear 1 and JBL Pro Plus were presented as new alternatives, which further increased the ASP of the premium segment by 20 per cent QoQ, apart from Apple’s huge shipments contribution,” she added.
Talking about domestic manufacturing, Research Associate Anam Padha said, “Domestic manufacturing is gaining more significance as more brands continue to partner ODMs to bring made-in-India devices and enhance their production capabilities."
"Noise partnered with Optiemus, promising to offer multiple locally made devices in the coming quarters. Similarly, realme announced a partnership with Khy Electronics. Another Indian brand, Ambrane, set up a unit to locally manufacture audio devices. Ptron also elevated the progress of its domestic manufacturing capabilities this quarter and expects to double its TWS revenue this year," said Padha.
“With domestic manufacturing on the rise, the quarter saw boAt offering its first made-in-India TWS model Airdopes 101 while Ptron launched its second locally produced TWS model Bassbuds Ultima, equipped with ANC,” she added.
Top brands
In terms of top players in the segment, boAt topped the list with a 35.8 per cent share in the overall India TWS market in Q3 2021.
This also represents its highest shipments volume since its inception.
"Apart from its strong integrated marketing strategy and keeping up with the trends of multiple launches and value-for-money offerings, it also actively participated in multiple sales events, like the much-awaited Amazon Great Freedom Sale and Amazon Prime Day Sale. It even hosted a ‘boAthead Days’ sales event on its e-brand store," the report said.
The company's model Airdopes 131 was the bestseller for the second time and reached one million units for the first time.
Realme took the second spot with an 8.1 per cent share driven by the success of its mid-range ANC device Buds Air 2 and latest release Buds Q2 Neo in the low-price segment.
The brand was number one in the mid-price segment of ₹3,000-₹4,999. It also hosted a ‘realme Fan Festival’ event on its e-commerce website to provide the latest devices at a more affordable price point.
Noise had a 7.7 per cent share and moved one step up to take the third spot, driven by multiple offerings in the low-price segment.
"Like boAt, it also launched new devices during the Amazon Prime Day Sale and offered multiple discounts. It added newer TWS devices such as the Buds VS102, Buds VS103 and Buds VS303 to its low-range VS series during the quarter," the report said.
Apple witnessed record shipments, taking the fourth spot with a 7.6 per cent share in the Indian TWS market.
"Its model Airpods (Gen 2) performed well this quarter. Inventory for the festive season, Apple Days sales event and Back to School program accelerated its growth," it said.
Furthermore, additional inventory on account of Apple’s plan to bundle free Airpods with the iPhone 12 series in the fourth quarter helped the brand achieve 67 per cent YoY growth, as per the report.
Boult Audio, an Indian brand, took the fifth spot for the first time ever with a 5.3 per cent market share, recording 147 per cent YoY growth.
"Its portfolio covers the entry-level to mid-range segments. It derived this substantial demand by not only offering multiple new launches at a low price point but also putting its models on discounts during Amazon’s Great Freedom Festival," it said.
Among the new entrants in Q3 2021, Dizo was the fastest growing brand. It introduced four new models in the TWS market within the first quarter of its launch.
"The major highlight of the brand was its introductory pricing and focus on features like ANC and ‘transparency’ mode at an affordable price point," as per the report.
Nothing, a company launched by former OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei broke into the top three brands in the premium TWS segment in its debut quarter by capturing a 7 per cent share in the segment.
"Competitive pricing and differentiated design helped the brand gain good mindshare among consumers," the report said.
Truke was another fast-growing brand, with its shipments tripling YoY.
"The online-centric brand plays in the entry-level and low-price segments. Truke also launched its first ever gaming series TWS earbuds in Q3 2021," it said.
Oppo grew 63 per cent YoY and had its TWS products spread across all price tiers. The brand's latest release in the low-price band, the Enco Buds, drove decent volumes for the brand.
OnePlus added one more SKU to its TWS portfolio.
"However, the OnePlus Buds Pro mainly caters to the premium segment. OnePlus also offered discounts on its existing models during the Amazon Freedom Sale and at Amazon Rakhi Store," as per the report.
Samsung also launched a new model, the Galaxy Buds 2, and pushed its sales by offering it free with the purchase of new Samsung phones Galaxy Z Flip3 and Z Fold3. The company's existing models did well, helping it take the second spot in the premium segment (>₹5,000).