The global HLOS* (or advanced) smartwatch market is expected to see a healthy 15% annual growth in 2024.
While Apple WatchOS dominates, we are seeing growing adoption of HarmonyOS and Google Wear OS platforms this year.
In China, HarmonyOS smartwatches’ share is expected to reach 61% owing to the high adoption of Huawei 5G smartphones.
Major brands that will drive Wear OS volumes include Samsung, Google, OnePlus, OPPO and Xiaomi.
Seoul, Beijing, Boston, Fort Collins, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, Taipei, Tokyo – April 29, 2024
The global smartwatch market has been growing rapidly for multiple years now driven by the explosion of basic smartwatches priced mostly under $100 and running proprietary or real-time operating system (RTOS)-type operating systems with basic functionality and applications. On the other hand, advanced smartwatches (those with High-Level Operating System or HLOS) have been growing steadily mostly driven by Apple and Samsung until now.
However, according to our latest global smartwatch tracker and forecast by region, brand and OS, the global HLOS smartwatch market is estimated to grow 15% annually in 2024 in terms of volume, after a flattish growth in 2023. The major part of this growth will come from non-Apple smartphone users adopting either a Google Wear OS-based smartwatch if outside China or a Huawei HarmonyOS-based smartwatch if in China.
For example, in the advanced smartwatch segment, we estimate the Google Wear OS share outside China will climb to 27% in 2024. The growth will be primarily driven by the availability of more advanced smartwatches powered by Wear OS, like the latest adoption by Google Pixel and OnePlus Watch 2, along with the refreshed Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series.
Commenting on the market performance, Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain said, “Just as in the case of smartphones, where there is a shift toward premium devices in consumer buying patterns, we are witnessing that first-time smartwatch users or upgraders in the Android camp are now looking for a much better user experience and are willing to spend more when going for their next purchase. Due to this, we expect greater adoption of Google’s Android Wear (Wear OS) since these devices provide a robust third-party app experience, Google AI assistant, and precise health tracking, customization and battery optimization.”
Jain added, “Until now, most of the Wear OS adoption was driven by Samsung smartwatches, and there were limited mainstream options for Android smartphone users. However, starting this year, we are seeing Google and Qualcomm managing to attract their leading smartphone customers such as OnePlus, OPPO and Xiaomi to launch Wear OS-based smartwatches outside China at attractive high-tier price points. Further, Google’s own Pixel watches will also continue to contribute to the Wear OS adoption globally.
In addition to Wear OS, we are witnessing the growth of HarmonyOS powered by the increasing popularity of Huawei smartwatches in China. On this trend, Associate Director Ethan Qi said, “In 2023, the overall HarmonyOS shipments grew almost 2x, surpassing Apple’s WatchOS. HarmonyOS’ shipment share is further estimated to reach 61% in China in 2024, up from 48% in 2023. The launch of 5G smartphones by Huawei last year and the resulting growth have acted as a key catalyst in driving the attach rate for Huawei smartwatches and expanding China’s advanced smartwatch market.”
In terms of smartwatch chipsets, Apple and Samsung currently hold two-thirds of the advanced smartwatch market. Hengxuan and Qualcomm are expected to witness double-digit growth in 2024. Qualcomm’s market will be driven by more launches on its W5+ Gen 1 and W5100 processors, while Hengxuan’s growth will be mainly driven by the adoption of Huawei and Xiaomi smartwatches in China.
In terms of new and future launches, we are seeing a new trend of having a dual-chipset and dual-OS strategy, which combines a high-end processor, like from Qualcomm, with a low-power co-processor and a hybrid version of Wear OS, allowing smooth integration and switching between RTOS and HLOS depending on the user application, to boost power and performance. Players such as Ambiq Micro, BES Tech and Goodix will benefit from this trend and expand their share in the advanced smartwatch market. Therefore, there are more collaboration opportunities available in the market for hardware players with software platforms like the Wear OS to expand the device’s capabilities. Companies such as MicroEJ will also play a key role in abstracting the dual-OS application complexities.
While there are emerging trends when it comes to OS and chipset strategies, we are also seeing smartwatch displays becoming a key component for differentiation. Counterpoint company DSCC’s Senior DirectorDavid Naranjo said, “According to our smartwatch display panel shipments tracker, the advanced smartwatch, which mostly sports cutting-edge OLED and MicroLED displays, is bound to see an increase in orders for suppliers in the 16%-18% range in 2024 due to strong momentum after the second half of 2023 and the blended OLED panel pricing declining by 3% in addition to larger display sizes.”
Types of smartwatches:
*Advanced or HLOS smartwatch: Electronic watch running a high-level OS, such as Watch OS (Apple) and Wear OS (Samsung), with the ability to install third-party apps.
Basic smartwatch: Electronic watch running a lighter version of an OS, with no ability to install third-party apps.
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.
South Korean companies, particularly Samsung and LG, have played pivotal roles in driving technological advancements and market maturity, starting from the early development stages of the global mobile phone and smartphone industries. However, in the XR (eXtended Reality) domain, despite Samsung’s initial efforts in developing the Gear and Odyssey series headsets, its presence in today’s global XR industry has been relatively subdued.
A turning point emerged around 2023, with the launch of Apple’s Vision Pro. We have since witnessed South Korean tech giants significantly increasing their investments in the XR segment, trying to capitalize on potential opportunities in the emerging spatial computing era.
In the following sections, we will summarize the noteworthy developments and strategies adopted by these South Korean companies, and analyze their impacts on the global XR landscape.
Samsung Electronics
During the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024, Samsung Electronics unveiled a collaboration with Google and Qualcomm to develop its new headset aptly named “XR” for now. This reflects these companies’ ambition to revolutionize the world of AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), and MR (Mixed Reality) experiences. The anticipatedly significant partnership is expected to set a new benchmark within the Android ecosystem, leveraging the leading capabilities of these three companies in device development, component and chip design, as well as software and Operating System (OS) innovation.
Image source: Samsung Electronics
In addition to advancements in the development of end devices, Samsung has also ramped up investment in XR components through its 2023 acquisition of eMagin, the world’s leading Micro OLED technology provider. eMagin is known for its directly patterned RGB OLED microdisplay technology, which presents a higher entry barrier but holds distinct advantages in brightness, module thickness, and power consumption compared to the relatively mature WOLED+CF solution. This acquisition is expected to offer competitive advantages to Samsung Display (SDC) and Samsung’s XR headset businesses once the display panels developed by eMagin and SDC become commercially available. Apart from the advanced displays, Samsung is also reportedly developing the Low Latency Wide (LLW) IO DRAM, which boasts more efficient processing of real-time data for applications in XR, Gen AI and gaming-related devices.
We expect Samsung’s new “XR” device and these advanced components and technologies to debut in 2024/2025. While Samsung will collaborate with Qualcomm for its new “XR” device, we expect that its fabless subsidiary Samsung LSI may venture into designing its in-house XR SoC or co-processors as the global XR market gains momentum going forward.
LG Electronics
LG Electronics is also actively investing in allocating resources to the XR segment to capitalize on future opportunities.
LG Display (LGD), one of the subsidiaries of LG Electronics, reportedly partnered with Meta and SK Hynix to develop Micro OLED displays starting in 2023. In another development, LGD also acquired MicroLED-related patents from a Taiwanese company Ultra Display Technology, with the majority being transfer process patents, aiming to bolster the development and manufacturing maturity of MicroLED panels. These initiatives demonstrate LGD’s ambition to close the gap with current market leaders such as Sony and JBD, to become a prominent leader in the supply of advanced display panels for XR devices.
LG Innotek, another subsidiary of LG Electronics, has made strides in the XR optical components domain by investing in the Taiwanese lens manufacturer AOE Optronics in 2024. This strategic move aims to harness LG Innotek’s optical design expertise and process automation capabilities, complemented by AOE’s proprietary materials, mold processing, and precision lens manufacturing technologies. By synergizing these strengths, LG Innotek aims to seize business opportunities in the global automotive and XR industries.
We expect the proactive initiatives of LG Electronics’ affiliates to synergize with LG Electronics, bolstering the company’s unique strengths and positioning it as a key player in the global XR segment. Recently, Meta announced a strengthened partnership with LG Electronics to develop the next-generation XR device, leveraging LG’s expertise in hardware as well as its content and service experiences in the TV sector. This collaboration signifies an important step forward for LG Electronics, and we look forward to witnessing the innovative advancements that will result from this partnership.
LG CEO William Cho and Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg met at LG Twin Towers in Yeouido, Seoul Image source: LG Electronics
Policy Makers, Local Associations and Telecom Operators
Recognizing the immense growth potential of the global metaverse economy, the South Korean government published the Immersive Economy Development Strategy (Beyond Reality, Extend Korea) in 2020. In 2021, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) founded the “Metaverse Alliance,” which includes member companies such as Samsung, LG, Kakao, and Hyundai Motor, to develop a “metaverse” platform and enhance XR technology applications across industrial sectors. Building on these initiatives, in 2023, the South Korean government took a further step by establishing the XR Convergence Industry Alliance. This alliance aims to foster inter-sector cooperation in technology and business, explore joint R&D opportunities, and develop infrastructure to create a convergence ecosystem for the XR industry in the country.
South Korean telecom operators SK Telecom (SKT), KT, and LGU+, which were among the world’s first to commercialize 5G networks in 2019, have also been among the earliest movers globally in promoting XR and the metaverse services. In their latest development, SKT introduced its self-developed metaverse platform, the “Ifland”, in 2021, and collaborated with local gaming companies to co-develop VR games compatible with Meta’s Quest devices. To date, SKT has continued to strengthen its metaverse efforts by expanding international partnerships for the “Ifland” platform. KT also launched an open beta version of its metaverse platform, the “Genieverse,” in 2023. Furthermore, KT plans to provide content empowered by GenAI technology, such as AI motion dance and AI avatar messages, to the “Genieverse” platform. As for LGU+, it introduced a metaverse-based platform targeting young children, called “Kidstopia,” in 2023. In 2024, it established a partnership with Dong-A Science Reproduction to collaboratively develop metaverse experience content, to enhance the competitiveness of the “Kidstopia” platform.
Conclusion
While South Korean tech companies have dominated the industrial vertical since the time of the early mobile phone industry, the XR landscape presents a different picture. Here, Chinese players, including device OEMs like Pico, Xreal, and TCL-RayNeo, and supply chain players like Goertek, JBD, SeeYa Technology, and Sunny Optical, have already secured a head start.
However, South Korean companies are rapidly closing the gap. They are accelerating innovation through R&D investments, organizational restructuring, cross-border acquisitions, and partnerships with US tech giants such as Qualcomm, Google, and Meta. With government efforts to drive inter-sector cooperation and telecom operators’ initiatives to boost content and platform development, we expect a significant boost in South Korea’s XR industry in the coming years.
OnePlus’ Watch 2 is a substantial upgrade with a bigger and brighter display, dual-band GPS, bigger battery, and increased internal storage among others.
However, the primary upgrade is its ability to run both Google’s WearOS 4 and Real-Time OS (RTOS) without sacrificing the battery life.
Retailing at $300, the OnePlus Watch 2 is priced lower than its competing WearOS offerings from Samsung and Google.
Three years after launching the OnePlus Watch, the company announced a new smartwatch – OnePlus Watch 2 – at MWC 2024 in Barcelona. The latest model is a substantial upgrade with a bigger and brighter display, dual-band GPS, bigger battery, and increased internal storage among others. However, the primary upgrade is its ability to run both Google’s WearOS 4 and Real-Time OS (RTOS) without sacrificing the battery life.
While most High-Level OS (HLOS) smartwatches offer a battery life of a day or two, the OnePlus Watch 2 can last for 100 hours on a single charge in smart mode, and even 12 days in power-saving mode, alleviating concerns over daily charging.
Google has made fundamental changes to the WearOS 4 with a hybrid interface, which allows OnePlus to cherry-pick the best of both OSs. The smartwatch can seamlessly switch between RTOS and HLOS depending on the active task. Tasks like running WearOS apps or third-party apps will invoke WearOS.
Other features like continuous health tracking and smartphone notification mirroring would be taken care of by the power-efficient RTOS. This means RTOS will be constantly active, whereas the HLOS will only run when required. We can expect to see this hybrid version of WearOS 4 in upcoming smartwatches, paving the way for further adoption of Google’s smartwatch OS and maintaining share against Apple’s Watch OS.
OnePlus’ dual-chipset approach facilitates the switch between RTOS and HLOS, powered by the BES2700 microcontroller unit and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 application processor respectively. The Snapdragon processor shuts down completely when in power-saving mode.
With Fossil’s exit from the smartwatch market and Samsung’s Galaxy watches running on its Exynos processors, Qualcomm can maintain or even grow its presence across the smartwatch space with the OnePlus’ Watch 2 owing to its wider presence across the globe compared to the Pixel Watch 2.
Retailing at $300, the OnePlus Watch 2 is priced lower than its competing WearOS offerings from Samsung and Google and would likely appeal to users entering the WearOS ecosystem or OnePlus users looking for enhanced integration with their smartphones. Older-generation Galaxy Watches retailing at lower prices would also compete with the smartwatch in emerging markets like India. Like its peers, the smartwatch is incompatible with iOS and Android Go-powered smartphones.
While the OnePlus Watch 2 has implemented commendable upgrades, we expect to see further advancements like cellular connectivity, fall detection and SOS in its next update. FDA approval, like its peers, would also prove to be a boost in showcasing its capabilities.
With major smartphone OEMs expanding their foray into the health-tracking market, OnePlus could also bring more devices like smart scales and smart rings in the coming years to remain competitive.
OnePlus had less than 1% market share in the global smartwatch market in 2023, which could grow owing to this new upgraded iteration.
With a 30% share, Fire-Boltt took the top spot in 2023, driven by the widest portfolio among all OEMs.
Noise and boAt captured second and third spots with 25% and 17% shares respectively.
The top five brands’ share was the highest ever at 81%, indicating a growing but consolidating market.
Fastrack and Boult entered the top five for the first time.
54% market was under the retail price band of INR 2,000, which registered over 3x growth.
New Delhi, Beijing, Boston, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, London, San Diego, Seoul – February 7, 2024
India’s smartwatch shipments grew 50% YoY in 2023, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s IoT Service. This growth was driven by the rising penetration of smartwatches, proliferation of low-cost devices to target first-time users, and enhanced efforts by Indian brands through extensive marketing and distribution, promotions and local manufacturing. In addition, there is growing awareness and interest among customers to track their health vitals, utilize the device as a style statement, or leverage it for gifting purposes.
Commenting on the market dynamics, Research Analyst Harshit Rastogi said, “The market saw over 125 active smartwatch brands in 2023 even as it started moving towards consolidation. The combined share of the top five brands reached the highest ever at 81%. In addition, growth of emerging players like Fastrack, Boult and BeatXP led to further consolidation of the market. The product portfolio of the top players expanded quite a lot compared to 2022 to cater to different customer segments. Moreover, the market is now further skewed towards the lower price bands with 54% of the shipments in 2023 coming under the INR 2,000 retail price band, up from 26% in 2022.”
Commenting on the outlook, Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain said, “While the market continues to register high growth rates, we are seeing some stabilisation, signaling wider adoption. The quarterly growth rates have come down from triple to double digits. We expect the market to grow 23% YoY in 2024. With the introduction of new features like cellular connectivity, high-level OS (HLOS) and better displays, the market is likely to sustain growth. We are now observing that OEMs are tapping into new emerging markets like Southeast Asia and the Middle East and foraying into other wearable categories like smart rings to accentuate their presence in the market.”
Market Summary
Fire-Boltt led the market with a 30% share. The brand maintained its focus on offering a wide SKU portfolio and a strong offline presence.
Noise (along with sub-brand Alt) captured the second spot with a 26% market share. The Noise Colorfit Icon 2 and Colorfit Icon Buzz were the best-selling smartwatches in 2023. The brand expanded its retail presence in 2023 and also expanded its portfolio in the kids smartwatch category.
boAt (with sub-brands TAGG and Defy) maintained its third spot in the market with a 17% share and 40% YoY growth. The brand sported its widest portfolio in 2023 and also introduced its Crest+ OS. Besides, it launched limited-edition smartwatches for the Cricket World Cup in 2023.
Fastrack registered the highest shipment growth among major OEMs to move to the fourth spot with a 5.4% market share. With existing brand value and wide offline presence, it has expanded rapidly.
Boult captured the fifth spot with a 3.8% market share. It had the lowest ASP among the top five OEMs.
Samsung declined by 3% YoY in 2023 but registered 17% YoY growth in Q4 2023. The Galaxy Watch 4 continued to be the brand’s best-selling model owing to its promotional pricing, making it the best-selling WearOS smartwatch in India.
Apple’s shipments declined by 57% YoY in 2023 owing to longer replacement cycles and higher ASP coupled with iPhone-only compatibility. The brand maintained its lead in the shrinking INR 20,000 and above retail price band. With increased iPhone sales in India in 2023, we can expect gradual growth in Apple Watch shipments in 2024.
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.
Apple Vision Pro (AVP) is an engineering masterpiece.It marks a significant advance in consumer electronics and is the most complex device ever made, far outstripping competitors in terms of technical competency. Apple starts to ship the headset today, 2nd Feb 2024. AVP swiftly sold out once pre-orders began on January 19, starting at $3,499 for the 256GB memory variant, seven times what the 128GB version of the Meta Quest 3 costs. Whether the few hundred thousand units in initial volumes are followed by a sustained demand will demonstrate the device’s appeal, or a lack thereof, beyond developers, early adopters and Apple’s die-hard fans.
Apple positions Vision Pro not just as a headset, but as a new spatial computing platform with its own operating system, user interface paradigm and digital content delivery. This strategic shift aims to move the discourse beyond mere headset competition and towards competition between entire ecosystems, signalling Apple’s long-term commitment to this new product line. One surely needs to believe in Apple’s long-term commitment since the use cases demonstrated by Apple were generic and interesting at best. Showcasing familiar experiences like watching movies, working on large virtual screens, and teleconferencing raises questions about whether AVP is a solution seeking a problem (though this criticism could be applied to many VR devices).
While the over 600 apps developed for Vision Pro add to the 1 million+ compatible App Store apps, the lack of “killer apps” remains a concern. Despite touting entertainment as a major attraction with partnerships including with Disney, Apple suffered setbacks with popular video and audio platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify choosing not to launch dedicated apps. Without compelling use cases or major first-party apps, Apple’s launch of AVP seems predicated on hope. Apple appears to rely on developers creating the “killer apps” that will replicate the success of the iPhone and iPad App Store. Even if Vision Pro doesn’t gain mass adoption, Apple’s entry into the segment has generated popular awareness regarding the eXtended Reality (XR) industry.
Apple, we believe, is essentially using Vision Pro as an insurance policy. iPhone is the core of Apple’s almost $3-trillion market cap (at the time of writing). For years, speculation has pointed to augmented reality devices as the potential successor to smartphones as our primary interface with digital life. So far, the XR market has been disappointing – generating a few 10s of millions of unit sales but limited consistent usage outside niche enterprise applications. Furthermore, the technical challenge of making true augmented reality glasses has proven to be beyond the capabilities of even the most technically gifted companies. Therefore, the slow-developing XR industry doesn’t pose an immediate threat to Apple.
For Apple, the worst-case scenario would be a booming XR market with no Apple product in the game. Even if the market fails to materialize despite Apple’s multi-billion-dollar investment in XR development, the cost, while sizeable, would not significantly impact its cash reserves.
So, Apple made the logical choice to invest in creating the Apple Vision Pro. In the process, it has amassed an impressive patent portfolio that strengthens its position.
Should the XR market finally take off, Apple will be ideally positioned to capitalize on the opportunity. However, even if it remains a niche market, Apple has secured its place with a product that will serve as a benchmark for future competitors.
We saw a lot of changes in our daily lives in 2023, especially in terms of getting out of the house and traveling, which had been minimized after the COVID-19 pandemic. Offices recommenced to a fuller extent, with which came the return of the office commute. We resumed traveling for product launch events and trade shows. However, one thing remained pretty much unchanged since the COVID-19 lockdowns – online video calls with teams, clients and prospects. For these calls, headphones or TWS earbuds have become even more crucial to ensure better audio quality and these devices have seen some extensive advancements in specs over time.
Sony launched its WF-1000XM5 (XM5) TWS earbuds in H2 2023, and we have been using a pair extensively for more than four months now. These earbuds feature a more compact and lightweight design, improved ANC, and a better battery life than the previous iteration, the WF-1000XM4 (XM4). Incorporating these upgrades, the new Sony XM5 is priced at $299, a $20 increase compared to its predecessor.
Commenting on Sony’s TWS sales, Senior Analyst Minsoo Kang said, “Sony, especially in the >$150 segment, has shown steady growth, driven by robust ANC, impressive audio quality, and a loyal customer base. With a focus on products priced at $100 and above, Sony has consistently increased its sales in the premium segment. The XM5 does not feature a significant design change compared to the XM4, but Sony has made notable improvements to the Bluetooth version and weight.”
We have reviewed the predecessor XM4 in the past. How does the new XM5 fare in comparison? Read our usage experience and detailed analysis below.
More Compact Design, Better Comfort
Generation over generation, Sony has worked towards making its earbuds smaller, lighter, and more comfortable. The XM4 earbuds were 10% smaller and the case was 40% more compact than the XM3. The latest Sony XM5 is 25% smaller and about 20% lighter compared to the XM4. Each earbud now weighs 5.9g. In comparison, the XM4 earbud weighs 7.3g each.
The reduced footprint offers a more comfortable fit without hitting the ear fold, thus ensuring less fatigue, unlike what we experienced in the XM3 and XM4 when wearing for long hours. Sony is bundling four ear tips this time – extra small, small, medium, and large – so you can choose the optimal size to fit your ears. These are foam ear tips and not silicone ones like what you typically see in other earbuds.
The Sony XM5 earbuds are less chunky compared to the XM4, thanks to the reduced footprint.
As most of us are not used to foam ear tips, wearing them may feel a little strange initially but with time they feel more comfortable and help greatly in improving wearability and reducing pressure on the ears.
In terms of design, Sony has retained the gold accent on the microphone mesh cover for each earbud, which gives it a distinct look. The case and the touch-sensitive outer edge of the earbuds have a matte finish. However, most of the exterior is made of glossy plastic, which makes the earbuds a bit slippery when removing from the case, especially if you have sweaty or oily fingers. Overall, the aesthetics of the XM5 look nice and premium.
New Head Tracking Gestures, More Stable Connection
The Sony XM5 is packed with a host of features; some new, some improved over the predecessor:
Adaptive Sound Control to automatically switch between ANC and ambient modes.
Automatic firmware updates, without needing any manual intervention.
Head gestures to accept and decline calls by simply nodding your head.
Multi-point control for simultaneous connections.
Wireless charging and quick charge (up to one hour of music payback in a three-minute charge).
LDAC with Hi-Res Wireless support.
Six mics and dual processors for better audio quality and noise cancellation.
Google Fast Pair for Android, and Swift Pair for Windows.
Find Your Equalizer feature lets you choose the sound settings that suit your music listening preferences.
Adaptive Sound Control is an interesting feature that allows you to customize the EQ and noise canceling level depending on your activity or location. For instance, in the office, you might want to keep ambient mode on so you can listen to your colleagues sitting next to you. In a gym, you may want to turn the ANC on, and the bass turned up to pump that extra adrenaline as you work out.
The activity-based adaptive mode can have ANC turned on when you are sitting in one place, allowing you to enjoy an immersive listening experience. Similarly, the moment you start walking or running, it can automatically turn on the ambient mode to ensure you can hear your surroundings more clearly. Though the mode switching is not instant, it takes about five to eight seconds to detect the activity and then switch.
Adaptive Sound Control works perfectly to switch through optimal EQ, ANC, and ambient modes depending on your location and activity.
The head gesture feature to accept and decline calls is neat and works as expected. When you get an incoming call, simply nod your head up and down to accept the call. If you want to decline a call, you can move your head sideways.
The multi-point connection feature allows you to simultaneously connect the earbuds to two devices at the same time. It can intelligently switch between devices. For instance, if you are watching a video or listening to music on the laptop/tablet, and you get a call on the phone, the playback will stop, and after the call has ended, the playback on the laptop will resume. With a new chipset, Sony is also offering this feature in LE (Low Energy) mode, though it is in beta as of now.
Support for Google Fast Pair is a good addition. This makes it easier to pair by just opening the lid of the case and placing it closer to an Android smartphone. Bluetooth needs to be turned on though. It takes away the hassle of finding the device and manually pairing it. Similarly, Swift Pair for Windows 10/Windows 11 laptops makes it easier to pair with a laptop by putting the earbuds in pairing mode. The pairing button is present at the back of the case, just beside the USB-C port.
Automatic firmware update is another good addition. Once new firmware is available, it will be automatically downloaded and installed, so you need not manually check and install the updates.
Lastly, there is also a new Find My Equalizer feature that lets you find the right sound balance to suit your listening preferences. Simply play a song, and it will present some numbered bubbles, each having a different subtle effect. You need to tap on the numbers, hear the difference, and choose the optimal setting that sounds the best to you.
Based on those inputs, it will create a custom equalizer (EQ) for you, which will be saved in the earbud profile, and that EQ will be consistent across all devices, music, and movies that you watch. It worked well for me, adding slightly more bass while keeping the five-band EQ flat.
Find My Equalizer is a perfect tool for finding optimal sound tailored to your taste, without manually fiddling around with the EQ.
Performance: Stable Connectivity, Great Sound, Long Battery Life
The XM5 offers a more stable connection, thanks to the new Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity standard. We tested the earbuds across multiple devices – MacBook Pro 16 (M1 Pro), iPhone 15 (AAC codec), and Xiaomi 13 Pro (LDAC). However, most of the music listening was on the Xiaomi smartphone as it supports LDAC codec for high bit-rate audio.
Sound Quality:
Sony is known for offering excellent sound quality on its headphones and TWS earbuds, and it has done the same in the new XM5. These earbuds come with 8.4mm dynamic drivers, up from 6mm on the XM4. Sony is also using two materials – one for low and the other for high-frequency sounds.
While listening to music with the equalizer flat, you can immediately hear that the emphasis is still on the lower frequencies a bit. It is perfect for workouts where most of us lean on the hip-hop genre, but when sitting in a home or office, the sound may get a little bass heavy. For most of the listening, we reduced the bass by two levels, and then it sounded well and balanced. Soundstaging in the XM5 is a bit wider compared to the XM4, and detecting different instruments in a sound is much easier.
However, the audio on XM5 is not as rich and full as in the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro. Otherwise, these are an excellent pair of earbuds to enjoy immersive music and video-watching experience.
Noise Cancellation and Call Quality:
Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Ambient features have always been one of the highlights of the 1000XM series, and Sony has improved this further with every new generation. The new XM5 earbuds come with a total of six mics (three on each earbud), that can catch more ambient noise to filter, thus offering a slightly noticeable difference in ANC. We found it most effective on airplanes, trains, and even places like malls and airports. It also reduces wind noise considerably.
Noise Cancellation and Ambient modes have been improved over the XM4, thanks to the six-mic system.
But it is not just the mics, this time Sony has used two chips – the Integrated Processor V2 for better noise canceling, improved sound quality, low power consumption, and also for better connectivity, and the HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN2e, which is also used to further improve noise canceling and sound quality. Sony says the two processors work together in offering around 20% more noise cancellation compared to the XM4.
The mics also enable crisp and clear ambient mode, to let you hear things clearly when using the Speak-to-Chat feature, without having to remove the earbuds. On calls, it uses a bone conduction sensor to capture voice vibrations and AI-driven noise reduction algorithms to isolate your voice from ambient noise. We used the earbuds for phone calls, and also for Microsoft Teams calls, and the receiver was able to hear the voice clearly, whether we were in the office or commuting in a cab or metro.
The XM5 offers crisp and clear call quality in most of the ambient noise scenarios we tested.
Battery Life:
In terms of battery life, Sony claims up to eight hours of continuous music playback on a single charge with ANC on, and up to 12 hours with ANC off. The case offers two additional charges, meaning you can get up to 36 hours of music playback. During our testing, we found the claims to be accurate, and in fact, surpassing even the said claims. On a long-haul 10 flight from London to Mumbai, we got around nine hours and 20 minutes of total playback time with ANC on, before the battery on the earbuds completely drained and needed charging again.
Better battery life and quick charging offer long listening time.
The quick charge feature is also faster now. A quick three-minute charge can offer up to one hour of battery life. In our test, a quick five-minute charge offered roughly an hour and 35 minutes of music playback, lasting and entire Mumbai-Delhi flight from take-off to landing.
Final Words
The Sony WF-1000XM5 is an excellent pair of TWS earbuds loaded with a lot of features not found in the competition. They sound great, offer crisp ambient noise that allow you to stay aware of your surroundings, and great noise cancellation when you want to cut off and be in your zone. Features like head tracking for accepting and declining calls, multi-point connection, and adaptive sound control set them apart.
However, there are some areas where Sony can make further improvements. These earbuds support head tracking and 360 reality audio, but unlike the Apple AirPods Pro and Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro, the compatibility is very limited. The ‘Speak-to-chat’ with bone conduction is a great feature, but similar to the previous generation, it is very sensitive and gets activated even when humming to music. Audio tuning can be slightly improved to enhance the richness and fullness of the audio.
At CES 2024 in Las Vegas, our Research Director, Peter Richardson sat down with RayNeo’s Global PR Manager, Dongyao Nie to deep-dive into their AR offerings. Dongyao spoke about the RayNeo X2, the world’s first microLED AR glasses that offer clear, bright, and transparent displays. She highlighted features like live translations, 3D navigation, and interactive 3D avatars. She also spoke about the new and improved RayNeo X2 Lite, a lighter version powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 platform and RayNeo AI assistant. The company is also promising significant advancements in AR glasses for convenient daily life integration.
2023 was the most exciting year in the Extended Reality (XR) space since Counterpoint Research began its XR service more than three years ago. While the most amount of public interest was generated by the announcement of Apple’s foray into the segment through the Vision Pro, its first Mixed Reality (MR) headset, the launch of Sony’s gaming VR headset PlayStation VR2, and the launch of Meta’s MR headset Quest 3, a significant amount of meaningful progress was also made by lightweight and competitively priced AR glasses. We at Counterpoint have been testing one such product – XREAL Air 2 Pro.
Initial thoughts
The XREAL Air 2 Pro with its lightweight and well-balanced design offers comfortable usability. The high image quality, combined with a 120Hz high refresh rate and improved audio, positions it as a good competitor in its category, especially for streaming.
It has several other intriguing features that users in certain regions – surprisingly including the US where it is officially available – are prevented from experiencing to the fullest extent. Overcoming these hiccups and adding more apps could make it one of the most interesting AR glasses in 2024 when Apple’s MR headset finally becomes available, and more consumers seek the XR experience without necessarily wanting to shell out $3,500.
Lightweight and comfortable design
The Air 2 Pro packs some upgrades into a visibly thinner and noticeably lighter frame compared with the original 2022 Air. XREAL achieved this by reducing the front face thickness by around 14% to 19 mm. The Air 2 Pro weighs 75 gm, a noticeable reduction from the Air’s weight of 79 gm. The weight distribution has also been improved, with the front/rear weight ratio going from 63:37 to 50:50. The Air 2 Pro also comes with multiple soft zero-pressure nose pads which would help users pick one that fits them better, compared to the metallic ones offered with the original Airs. However, sometimes the glasses need to be worn further out on the nose to prevent the lower part of a video, particularly subtitles, from falling outside the visual area.
Display: Bright, crisp and vivid
The Air 2 Pro comes with three levels of electrochromic dimming, taking immersion from 0% to 35% to 100%. A 25% increase in brightness, to 500 nits, allows for a better viewing experience, even in brighter conditions. The latest 0.55 Micro-OLED panel from Sony with a 21% higher PPI (pixels per inch) of 4032 also contributes to the increased image quality in the Air 2 Pro. The new device comes with a refresh rate of 120Hz, which has also been added to the original Air through software updates.
Audio: Loud enough for a personal viewing experience
The overall viewing experience also benefits from XREAL’s second-generation sound system which makes audio more immersive. Directional audio reduces sound leakage, although it is still quite noticeable, unless in loud outdoor environments. There are two speakers, one on each side of the temple, making the audio sufficiently loud in most environments.
XREAL Beam: Connectivity hub for reduced latency
The Air 2 Pro can be used with Beam, a handheld accessory that looks like the Apple iPod. It comes with a built-in battery that can offer a continuous runtime of up to three-and-a-half hours. With a 27W fast charger, it can be charged up to 50% in 30 minutes, while also allowing users to use the Air 2 Pro while charging.
Built on XREAL’s proprietary spatial computing technology, it can project an equivalent of 330 inches of portable screen in the Air 2 Pro for streaming, gaming, or productivity. Gamers may also use it to connect with PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck or even the ROG Ally to mirror the screen on the Air 2 Pro for an immersive gaming experience. The Beam also comes with 32GB of built-in memory, allowing users to sideload Android app APKs.
Limited app ecosystem with availability issues across regions
With the app ecosystem playing a critical role in the success of a product, capable hardware needs to be complemented with enough apps for various use cases. At Counterpoint, we used the device in our US, China, and India offices. We were able to successfully connect it with an iPhone 15, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5, MacBook Pro 16 (M1 Pro), and a Windows 10-powered Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 where screen mirroring worked well. Using the Nebula app on macOS, we could use three virtual desktops, but only a screen mirroring option was available with a Windows laptop.
We wanted to try some apps, but both the US and India teams could not download any as the Nebula app on Android was not available in those regions. Despite software updates, XREAL Beam (China market version) currently offers only four 2D applications – document management, Bilibili (video APP), iQiyi (video APP), and Alibaba Cloud Drive.
User experience
The Air 2 Pro comes pre-installed with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video apps, and we were able to successfully log in and watch TV shows and movies without a hitch. The experience was immersive and better than expected. Logging in to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video was a bit of a hassle, especially for someone with limited experience of using such devices. This was exacerbated by a dissatisfactory cursor experience as the cursor kept sliding into one of the corners and sometimes failed to appear on the display at all.
After logging in, however, the experience of watching a couple of episodes of ‘Secrets of the Great British Castles’ on Netflix was quite exciting. After some adjustments, the first entire episode could be watched in a single sitting with relative ease. The experience was quite immersive with the drone views of the castles being especially superior on these glasses.
Pricing and availability
The XREAL Air 2 is priced at $399, whereas the XREAL Air 2 Pro comes for $499. They went on sale in October 2023 in the US, UK, Germany, France and Italy. The glasses’ companion handset accessory, the XREAL Beam, sets users back by another $120.
XR headset shipments are expected to increase by a record 3.9 million units in 2024, marking a high double-digit YoY growth from a small base.
Major releases in 2024, including Apple’s Vision Pro, will sustain the momentum generated by Meta and Sony in 2023 with the launch of Quest 3 and PlayStation VR2 respectively.
AR is projected to grow from a very small base, driven by successful launches like XREAL’s Air 2 and Air 2 Pro.
North America, the biggest XR market, will further widen its lead in 2024 as Apple’s Vision Pro is exclusively available in the region for much of the year.
Seoul, Beijing, Boston, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, San Diego – January 9, 2024
Extended Reality (XR) headset shipments are projected to increase by a record 3.9 million units in 2024 to clock a high double-digit YoY growth, according to the latestCounterpoint Global XR (VR/AR) Forecast. Apple’s Vision Pro, which goes on sale in the US on February 2 (with pre-orders starting on January 19), will generate user interest and industry movement which will benefit incumbents. 2024 will also carry forward the momentum from 2023, marked by several launches from major players like Meta and Sony.
Commenting on the market dynamics, Senior Analyst Harmeet Singh Walia said, “Apple’s highly-anticipated entry into the XR space has long been expected to mark a watershed moment for the industry. However, we expect Apple to sell about half a million units of Vision Pro, its $3,500 mixed reality (MR)* headset, in 2024. This makes up a low single-digit share of the 2024 global XR market. The first iteration of the Vision Pro headset will primarily attract die-hard Apple fans, developers, early adopters and enterprise users. A more optimistic scenario could unfold if Apple successfully boosts the supply of key components for the headset and experiences higher-than-expected interest from the end market. Moreover, the consumer interest Apple’s entry is generating will benefit market incumbents offering competitively priced headsets, towards which many enthusiasts who wish to try the technology without incurring Apple’s hefty price tag would gravitate, boosting the global XR market.”
2024 will see the continuation of another trend – the transition from pure virtual reality (VR) to MR* as major players, both existing and upcoming, rush to launch MR products or add passthrough to successors of their pre-existing headsets. Since Counterpoint considers such headsets as part of its VR category*, it remains dominant. The standalone form factor is preferred and is likely to remain so despite Apple’s Vision Pro requiring a wired connection with an external battery case.
Augmented Reality (AR) is projected to grow by 54% YoY in 2024, bucking the trend of three years of consecutive declines. This growth will be driven by XREAL’s Air 2 and Air 2 Pro AR Glasses, which quickly became the best-selling AR glasses in China. Besides XREAL, which targets the larger consumer segment, AR will be driven by high-spec and high-price products in the niche enterprise segment. At just about 2%, AR, however, will remain a small contributor to overall XR shipments.
Commenting on the regional performance, Senior Analyst Karn Chauhan said, “North America was already the biggest contributor to XR shipments with nearly 70% of the best-selling Meta headsets shipping in the region. This will grow further in 2024 as Apple’s Vision Pro is available for sale exclusively in the US for most of its first year. While Europe remains a major market, as with its economy, its share of the XR market is expected to lag further behind North America due to slower adoption and limited content. Streaming not taking off as a use case, strict gaming regulations, and the education and enterprise segments, in which XR is popular in China, being niche, growth in China too will remain sluggish in 2024. The rest of Asia-Pacific benefited from the launch of Sony’s PlayStation VR2, which did well in its home country of Japan, among the few major XR markets in the region together with South Korea, Australia and New Zealand that will continue performing strongly in 2024.”
Samsung’s re-entry into the segment, likely with an MR* headset in 2024, will also generate traction, but regardless of its launch price, it will contribute less than Apple to global shipment growth due to a late-year launch.
Pico, owned by TikTok’s parent ByteDance, is unlikely to fully recover from the setbacks its latest Pico 4 suffered in 2023. DPVR, another major Chinese player, while remaining strong in the Chinese education sector, will struggle to break out as a major global player despite having launched E4, its gaming PC VR headset.
*Counterpoint’s XR services currently divide the market into two device types – VR and AR. AR includes glasses and headsets with transparent displays. VR includes headsets that substantially or fully obscure the real world but may use video-pass-through (VPT) technology to feed real-world views to the wearer and/or combine them with digitally created environments, hence covering headsets (including Apple’s Vision Pro) commonly marketed as MR, which Counterpoint currently buckets under its VR category.
Feel free to reach us at press@counterpointresearch.com for questions regarding our latest research and insights.
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.
In order to access
Counterpoint Technology Market Research Limited (Company or We hereafter) Web sites, you may be asked to complete a registration form. You are required to provide contact information which is used to enhance the user experience and determine whether you are a paid subscriber or not.
Personal Information
When you register on we ask you for personal information. We use this information to provide you with the best advice and highest-quality service as well as with offers that we think are relevant to you. We may also contact you regarding a Web site problem or other customer service-related issues. We do not sell, share or rent personal information about you collected on Company Web sites.
How to unsubscribe and Termination
You may request to terminate your account or unsubscribe to any email subscriptions or mailing lists at any time.
In accessing and using this Website, User agrees to comply with all applicable laws and agrees not to take any action that would compromise the security or viability of this Website. The Company may terminate User’s access to this Website at any time for any reason. The terms hereunder regarding Accuracy of Information and Third Party Rights shall survive termination.
Website Content and Copyright
This Website is the property of Counterpoint and is protected by international copyright law and conventions. We grant users the right to access and use the Website, so long as such use is for internal information purposes, and User does not alter, copy, disseminate, redistribute or republish any content or feature of this Website. User acknowledges that access to and use of this Website is subject to these TERMS OF USE and any expanded access or use must be approved in writing by the Company.
– Passwords are for user’s individual use
– Passwords may not be shared with others
– Users may not store documents in shared folders.
– Users may not redistribute documents to non-users unless otherwise stated in their contract terms.
Changes or Updates to the Website
The Company reserves the right to change, update or discontinue any aspect of this Website at any time without notice. Your continued use of the Website after any such change constitutes your agreement to these TERMS OF USE, as modified.
Accuracy of Information:
While the information contained on this Website has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, We disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. User assumes sole responsibility for the use it makes of this Website to achieve his/her intended results.
Third Party Links:
This Website may contain links to other third party websites, which are provided as additional resources for the convenience of Users. We do not endorse, sponsor or accept any responsibility for these third party websites, User agrees to direct any concerns relating to these third party websites to the relevant website administrator.
Cookies and Tracking
We may monitor how you use our Web sites. It is used solely for purposes of enabling us to provide you with a personalized Web site experience.
This data may also be used in the aggregate, to identify appropriate product offerings and subscription plans. Cookies may be set in order to identify you and determine your access privileges. Cookies are simply identifiers. You have the ability to delete cookie files from your hard disk drive.
