In a new analytical report posted this morning we learn that India’s TWS market posted 55% YoY growth in Q3 2021 to reach the highest shipments ever at around 8 million. Brands pushed high amounts of inventory into the retail channels ahead of the festive season. Along with this, new entrants, discount offers, sales events and brands expanding into the low-price segments with feature-rich TWS offerings were the major success factors for the TWS growth in India during the quarter.

Counterpoint's Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain: "The Indian TWS market witnessed highest ever shipments in a single quarter in Q3 2021 driven by the strong festive planning, new launches and multiple sales events on major e-commerce platforms as well as brands’ own websites. We also saw the maximum number of new launches in Q3 2021 with a major emphasis on the low- to mid-price segments (less than INR 2,999 – US$40)," a market that Apple doesn't participated in.

According to the report, Apple saw record shipments, taking the fourth spot (see chart below) with a 7.6% share in the Indian TWS market. Its model AirPods (Gen 2) performed well this quarter. Inventory for the festive season, Apple Days sales event and Back to School program accelerated its growth. Moreover, additional inventory on account of Apple’s plan to bundle free AirPods with the iPhone 12 series in the fourth quarter helped the brand achieve 67% YoY growth.

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India based boAt captured a 35.8% share in the overall India TWS market in Q3 2021. This also represents its highest shipments volume since its inception. Apart from its strong integrated marketing strategy and keeping up with the trends of multiple launches and value-for-money offerings, it also actively participated in multiple sales events, like the much-awaited Amazon Great Freedom Sale and Amazon Prime Day Sale. It even hosted a 'boAthead Days' sales event on its e-brand store. Above all, its model Airdopes 131 was the bestseller for the second time and reached 1 million units for the first time.

Senior Research Analyst Anshika Jain noted that "In terms of features, there was an increased emphasis on Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and gaming. Key players such as Truke and Ptron came up with their first ever gaming TWS earbuds. Besides, prominent brands introduced various new models in the premium segment as well for tech enthusiasts. For instance, the OnePlus Buds Pro, Samsung Galaxy Buds 2, Nothing Ear 1 and JBL Pro Plus were presented as new alternatives, which further increased the ASP of the premium segment by 20% QoQ, apart from Apple’s huge shipments contribution."

For more information on the other TWS vendors, read the full Counterpoint report.