Apple's market share in the true wireless hearables segment failed to grow despite the launch of its second generation AirPods as the global market for true wireless hearables reached 17.5 million units in the first quarter (Q1) of 2019, growing 40 per cent quarter-on-quarter, a new report by Counterpoint Research said on Friday.
According to Counterpoint Research's "Hearables Market Tracker", all regions continued to grow during this quarter and North America and Europe were the fastest growing regions. "It remains uncertain if Apple's market share could stay at the present level with the current product portfolio in the coming quarters. Samsung is trying to strengthen its dominance with Galaxy Buds, propelled by bundling with Galaxy S10 series," Liz Lee, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, said in a statement.
Sales of the first generation AirPods were higher than expected, thanks to a variety of sales promotions for stock-outs in the channel in Q1 2019, but sales of the new model were weaker than initially expected due to the market's mixed response. Samsung expanded its market share and ranked the second for the first time by aggressively promoting its new, enhanced Galaxy Buds.
It is expected to maintain this momentum for a while thanks to the market's positive response as well as the effect of bundling with Galaxy S10 series. "The recent performance of QCY and Soundcore, who are also expanding their global presence, is noteworthy. Above all, Google, Amazon and Microsoft are expected to release true wireless earbuds in the second half of this year," Lee added.
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