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.