• India brands captured a 72% share in Q1 2022, up from 57% in Q1 2021.
• Four out of the top five spots were captured by Indian brands.
• boAt led the market with a 34% share, while Noise captured the second spot for the second consecutive quarter.
• Boult Audio, the third-largest TWS brand, reached its highest ever share of 7%.
• 10 new brands entered this segment in Q1 2022.
• Domestic manufacturing stood at 14%. It was almost negligible in Q1 2021.
• Almost eight out of ten models were sold online with Flipkart dominating the channels.

New Delhi, Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, San Jose, Buenos Aires – May 11, 2022

India’s TWS (True Wireless earbuds) market posted 66% YoY growth in Q1 2022, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’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.

Commenting on the overall market, Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain said, “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.”

“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.

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 3^rd 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.

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Anshika Jain

Liz Lee

Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com