Wireless earbud sales are booming

The most resilient category during the pandemic was that of smart earbuds – which should continue to boom over the next few years. — Prostock-Studio/IStock.com/AFP

The sales of wearables, connected wristbands and smartwatches, as well as wireless earbuds will record strong growth in 2020, according to analyst Canalys. The increase will continue in the coming years, notably thanks to truly wireless stereo (TWS) headphones, especially Apple AirPods.

The analyst predicts a total of 436.5 million wearables sold in 2020, which would represent progress of 32% compared with 2019. In 2021, sales could reach 558.3 million, another 28% growth in sales in a year. The most resilient category during the pandemic seems to be that of smart earbuds. Over 350 million TWS headphones could ship worldwide in 2021, close to 40% more than this year.

Regarding the 2020-2024 time period, smartwatches and connected wristbands should gain an average of 6.7% per year. However, a 19.8% growth of smart earbuds is predicted yearly. In 2024, up to 500 million smart headphones could be sold worldwide.

These devices' popularity is partly due to their ease of use, in any situation, hands-free, indoors or outdoors, working or exercising. Many device makers are surfing the AirPod wave by launching their own models. – AFP Relaxnews