The true wireless stereo (TWS) hearable devices market soared 53 percent quarterly to 51 million units last quarter, but Counterpoint Research Inc on Tuesday trimmed its growth outlook for this quarter due to growing uncertainties from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Hearable devices include any wearable device that hangs on or plugs into the ear, such as earbuds.
Claiming a 41 percent market share, Apple Inc’s offerings posted a 44 percent growth last quarter on the back of its new AirPods Pro wireless earbud, of which the company has sold up to 6 million units, despite supply shortages, the report said.
China’s Xiaomi Corp (小米) claimed second place in the market on hefty sales of its Redmi AirDots wireless earbud, while South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics Co followed closely behind.
Dongguan Hele Electronics Co Ltd (東莞和樂電子) and JLab Audio LLC were fourth and fifth place respectively, the report said.
Overall, the TWS hearables market swelled from 46 million units in 2018 to 130 million units last year, slightly beating previous predictions of 129 million units, it said.
While the market is expected to continue an upward trend, the COVID-19 outbreak has somewhat dampened market outlook, the Hong Kong-based researcher said.
“The spread of a coronavirus will have an impact on production and operations in China as some of ODM/OEM [original design manufacturer / original equipment manufacturer] and component fabs will not function properly [to maintain] the supply of true wireless hearables,” Counterpoint senior analyst Liz Lee (李利茲) said in an e-mail.
“We expect that Asia-Pacific [region] (excluding China) will have over 70 [percent] growth [year-on-year] and China will have over 110 [percent] growth for 2020,” Lee said, adding that these figures would be further adjusted next quarter, depending on how the epidemic situation in China plays out.
Lee previously forecast a 90 percent growth rate for the region, excluding China, and a 120 percent growth rate for the Chinese market.
Demand is not likely to be heavily affected as a larger proportion of sales are made through online channels compared with those of other devices such as smartphones, Lee said.
“The market growth is also mainly driven by demand from developed countries in other regions such as the US, so the key will be only how much and how quickly the impact on the supply side can be reduced,” she said, adding that increasing demand for Apple’s AirPods Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Plus would further propel growth in these regions.
This story has been modified since it was first published.
The demise of the coal industry left the US’ Appalachian region in tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water and countless kilometers of abandoned underground mines. Now entrepreneurs are eyeing the rural region with ambitious visions to rebuild its economy by converting old mines into solar power systems and data centers that could help fuel the increasing power demands of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. One such project is underway by a non-profit team calling itself Energy DELTA (Discovery, Education, Learning and Technology Accelerator) Lab, which is looking to develop energy sources on about 26,305 hectares of old coal land in
Taiwan’s exports soared 56 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$64.05 billion last month, propelled by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and cloud service infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) called the figure an unexpected upside surprise, citing a wave of technology orders from overseas customers alongside the usual year-end shopping season for technology products. Growth is likely to remain strong this month, she said, projecting a 40 percent to 45 percent expansion on an annual basis. The outperformance could prompt the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and
Netflix on Friday faced fierce criticism over its blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. The streaming giant is already viewed as a pariah in some Hollywood circles, largely due to its reluctance to release content in theaters and its disruption of traditional industry practices. As Netflix emerged as the likely winning bidder for Warner Bros — the studio behind Casablanca, the Harry Potter movies and Friends — Hollywood’s elite launched an aggressive campaign against the acquisition. Titanic director James Cameron called the buyout a “disaster,” while a group of prominent producers are lobbying US Congress to oppose the deal,
Two Chinese chipmakers are attracting strong retail investor demand, buoyed by industry peer Moore Threads Technology Co’s (摩爾線程) stellar debut. The retail portion of MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co’s (上海沐曦) upcoming initial public offering (IPO) was 2,986 times oversubscribed on Friday, according to a filing. Meanwhile, Beijing Onmicro Electronics Co (北京昂瑞微), which makes radio frequency chips, was 2,899 times oversubscribed on Friday, its filing showed. The bids coincided with Moore Threads’ trading debut, which surged 425 percent on Friday after raising 8 billion yuan (US$1.13 billion) on bets that the company could emerge as a viable local competitor to Nvidia
RSS