• boAt maintained its lead for the fourth successive quarter in Q2 2021, posting 426% YoY growth. OnePlus and realme captured the second and third spots respectively.
• Local brands further strengthened their position in India’s TWS market, contributing more than three-fifths of the total shipment volume.
• 60% of the shipments were driven by the INR 1,000-INR 2,000 price band.

Boston, Toronto, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul – August 13, 2021

India’s TWS market registered 68% YoY growth during the second quarter of 2021, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s IoT Service. This growth was driven by new launches in the affordable price segment along with improved features.

Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain said, “We have seen a phenomenal change in India’s TWS market with the entry of new players and frequent new launches. More than 40 brands have entered this market since 2020. In the next quarter, we will see the entry of more brands (like Nothing Ear, Dizo and Micromax) across price tiers to grab a larger share of this untapped market. Some of the new entrants in Q2 2021 were Lava, Aiwa and TCL. Low-cost offerings have provided the necessary boost to this segment. The share of the INR 1,000-INR 2,000 price band grew to 60% of the overall shipments in Q2 2021 compared to 25% in the same quarter last year.”

Looking at the overall market dynamics, Jain added, “The market’s growth saw some resistance during April due to COVID-19 restrictions, including on e-commerce giants in some parts of the country. However, the other two months of the quarter met the pent-up demand and helped maintain the growth momentum.”

On the domestic manufacturing front, Research Associate Anam Padha said, “Players are looking to make these devices locally to reap the benefits of the government’s PLI (Production-Linked Incentive) scheme. For instance, Mivi launched its first Made-in-India TWS device, called DuoPods A25, during the quarter. Mivi is the second brand after pTron to launch a Made-in-India TWS product. boAt has also decided to shift most of its manufacturing base to India to provide more affordable devices. The latest entrant, Aiwa, is also exploring a similar possibility, which indicates that more brands are likely to follow this path to offer new features at low price points.”

Source: India Hearables (TWS) Shipments by Model Tracker, Q2 2021

In Q2 2021, boAt topped the charts for the fourth quarter in a row with a 37% share of the total TWS shipments. Aggressive marketing, celebrity endorsements and ‘value for money’ offerings like the Airdopes 701, Airdopes 281 Pro and Airdopes 481V2 helped the brand to maintain a dominating position in the Indian TWS market. Pushing the inventory for its popular model Airdopes 131 during Flipkart’s Big Saving Days sale in Q2 was another driver for its growth.

Brands like OnePlus and realme are leveraging their existing smartphone user base to grow their presence in the TWS market. The continuous popularity of the Buds Z has helped OnePlus capture the second spot in the growing market. realme maintained its position in the Top 5 brands because of its affordable launches. The brand focused on offering prominent features like ANC at an affordable price point in its recently launched devices like the Buds Q2 and Buds Air 2.

Noise moved one step up to take the fourth spot in Q2 2021 with 117% YoY growth. It offered a good number of new alternatives to the customers and slightly shifted its product portfolio towards the lower price band of INR 1,000-INR 2,000.

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

Anam Padha

Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com