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India TWS Shipments Up 66% in Q1 2022

Article By : Counterpoint Technology Market Research

India's TWS market posted a 66% year-on-year growth in the first quarter, according to Counterpoint Research.

India’s TWS (True Wireless earbuds) market posted a 66% year-on-year (YoY) growth in the first quarter (Q1 2022), according to the latest research from Counterpoint Technology Market Research’s IoT service. The growth was driven by the strong value proposition offered by local brands to outshine the Chinese vendors. Besides, aggressive celebrity endorsements and domestic manufacturing helped boost the demand in this segment.

“Indian brands’ shipments more than doubled in Q1 2022 to capture 72% share in the overall India TWS market. The top four positions were taken by India-based brands, which captured more than half of the total TWS market. Indian brands were very quick in terms of upgrading their product portfolio. They released some of their new models with the most popular ANC feature. Indian brands put more emphasis on targeting the low-price tier (less than INR 2,000 or $26) and forming partnerships to market their devices,” said Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain.

“In addition to this, there has been a growing emphasis on domestic manufacturing, which led to an overall YoY decline of 19% in ASP in Q1 2022. Local production stood at 14% this quarter with 113% QoQ growth. We expect brands to go aggressive in the second half of this year to introduce made-in-India devices. boAt is expected to locally manufacture more than half of its total portfolio in the coming period. Other top players like Noise and realme are also expected to release locally-made devices within the first half of 2022,” she added.

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Talking about premium TWS market growth, Senior Research Analyst Liz Lee said, “The premium segment (more than INR 5,000 or $65) registered 53% YoY growth in Q1 2022 led by Apple, Samsung and Sony. Apple and Samsung shipments were driven by their loyal customers, advanced product portfolios and growing smartphone ecosystems. Sony was the fastest growing brand in the premium segment, having refreshed its portfolio with two new devices. In terms of models, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2, Sony WF-C500, Nothing Ear 1, Apple Airpods Pro and Airpods 3rd Generation were the best TWS devices in the premium segment.”

Source: India Hearables (TWS) Shipments, Model Tracker, Q1 2022

Market Summary

boAt led the market for the seventh consecutive quarter with 98% YoY growth in Q1 2022 driven by new launches, multiple celebrity endorsements and discount offers. boAt TWS Airdopes 131 was the most popular TWS earbuds and took a 32% share in the brand’s portfolio.
Noise maintained its second spot for the second quarter in a row with 214% YoY growth driven by multiple sales events and the introduction of a new model in the low-priced VS series. The Noise Airbuds mini was the best TWS model for the brand, capturing 38% of its portfolio.
Boult Audio reached its highest ever share of 7% with 266% YoY growth. It mostly plays in the low-price segment and has gradually increased the number of its TWS offerings. The brand also actively participated in the Amazon Great Republic sale event this quarter.
PTron rose to the fourth spot with a 5% share driven by its strong presence in the entry-level price band (less than INR 1,000 or $13). Value-for-money products, domestic manufacturing and multiple alternatives were the major factors that pushed its growth.
realme stood fifth in the top five TWS brands’ rankings with a 4% The Buds Q2 Neo drove the majority of its shipments followed by the Buds Air 2. It also released a new affordable model in Q1 2022, the Buds Air 3, with prominent features like ANC and transparency mode.

Other Emerging Brands in Q1 2022

Mivi, a full-fledged domestic brand, maintained a position in the top 10 list due to its focus on domestic manufacturing and introducing feature-rich devices at low price points.
OPPO grew 365% YoY due to the good performance of its low-priced models Enco Buds and Enco W11 and newly launched Buds Air 2 in the mid-price band.
OnePlus offered a new model, the Buds Z2, in its mid-priced TWS portfolio after the huge success of its previous Buds Z model.
Apple took the leadership position in the premium segment driven by its recent launch of the Airpods 3.
Nothing maintained a position within the top five premium brands due to its competitive pricing and innovative design.
Online-centric local brand Truke grew 75% YoY in Q1 2022. Consistently launching new models in each quarter since Q2 2021, celebrity endorsements and entry-level offerings contributed to its significant growth.