A new analytical report published this morning states that the global smart personal audio market saw a significant decline of 26% to 112.1 million units in Q4 2022. The decline was attributed to challenging macroeconomic conditions, with TWS unit shipments falling 23%, wireless earphones shipments dropping 36% and wireless headphones declining 25%.

Although Apple was the runaway winner in the TWS sector year round, shipments decreased in Q4 by 30%. Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro helped Apple retain its lead, contributing to 63% of all AirPods’ TWS shipments.

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Although shipments were sharply down for Q4, Apple's shipment for the year only fell 1% as presented in Canalys second chart below.

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Asia Pacific’s (excluding Greater China) shipment dropped by 17%. India, the largest TWS market in APAC, maintained growth but at a flattened rate of 5%, signaling the market is reaching its peak. Western Europe and North America’s decline rate was modest, and market share remained stable, as consumer electronic consumption was relatively strong.

According to Canalys Analyst Cynthia Chen, price band shifting trends were evident in Q4, with the sub-US$100 band taking up 55% market share, compared to 48% a year ago. “The US$200-299 price band saw an increase of shipments driven by Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro. Apart from the weaker market performance of the third-gen AirPods, the downgrading of consumption happening on a global level contributed to the shrinking of the US$100-199 price band.

(Click on Chart to Enlarge)

According to Canalys Analyst Cynthia Chen, price band shifting trends were evident in Q4, with the sub-US$100 band taking up 55% market share, compared to 48% a year ago. “The US$200-299 price band saw an increase of shipments driven by Apple’s second-generation AirPods Pro. Apart from the weaker market performance of the third-gen AirPods, the downgrading of consumption happening on a global level contributed to the shrinking of the US$100-199 price band. Smartphone vendors, whose scales are often larger, felt the most significant impact as they saw their market shares shrink.” 

For the full-year 2022, the share of TWS increased to 68% compared with 63% in 2021, but 2022 shipments dropped by 2% to reach 287.7 million units. 

“2023 will not be an easy year for vendors to recover,” said Canalys Research Analyst Sherry Jin. “Faced with a constrained market, competition intensifies. Mainstream vendors are forced to fight for market share and strengthen differentiations to stand out, as consumers tighten their belts on spending.” For more statistics regarding competitors, review the full report by Canalys.