While smartphone sales are declining in 2020 due to the health crisis, sales of wearables or connected accessories that you can wear yourself have continued to increase. Sales were particularly good for wireless headphones.
Apple is currently number one in this market thanks to its AirPods headphones. This is shown by a publication by the company Counterpoint.
Wireless headphones always sell well
According to this release, it was wireless headphones that drove the growth of wearable products (including wireless headphones, smartwatches, and other products) in 2020. Additionally, as of the third quarter of 2020, Apple was still number one in wireless headphones.
More specifically, the Cupertino company’s share was 29% in the third quarter thanks to its AirPods. In second place is Xiaomi with a share of 13%, followed by Samsung (5%), JBL (5%) and QCY (3%). It should also be noted that although the Realme brand is still very young, it is doing a small feat by positioning itself in the top 10 with a 2% share.
Liz Lee, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint, believes realme has built on the strong momentum in the connected audio accessories market and its strength in online sales. This brand could also use wireless headphones to reproduce the performance it achieved on smartphones.
There are cheaper products on the market than AirPods
For Counterpoint, the wireless headphone market is still dominated by high-end products, including Apple’s AirPods. However, the post invites you to keep a close eye on affordable products, as half of the brands in the top 10 of the third quarter offer products under $ 50 or even under $ 20. Number 2 Xiaomi, by the way, is one of the brands that offer affordable wireless headphones.
Otherwise, Counterpoint believes 2020 smartwatch sales shouldn’t be impressive. However, this should change in 2021.
“The normalization of economies coupled with an increasing interest in health and fitness will help the smartwatch market grow. We expect weak double-digit growth over the medium term – possibly higher if average sales prices drop rapidly. “, believes analyst Sujeong Lim.
2021, an important year for connected watches?
In any case, big changes are expected in the connected watch market in 2021. Aside from the fact that more and more people are concerned about their physical forms, new players should also come into the market.
As mentioned in a previous article, OnePlus will launch its first connected watch this year. And while waiting for this watch, the Chinese brand is already offering its affordable OnePlus band bracelet.
For its part, Google has completed the acquisition of Fitbit, a specialist in connected watches and fitness bracelets. Thanks to this acquisition of more than 2 billion US dollars, Google can finally offer products whose functionality rivals that of the Apple Watch.
Google can finally compete with the Apple Watch
“Fitbit’s newest and most advanced health and fitness smartwatch from Fitbit, Fitbit Sense, offers tools for stress management and new ways to manage your heart health, including an EKG app for assessing heart rate to detect signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib)”, recently recalled Rick Osterloh, the head of hardware at Google.
“With the newest tracker, Inspire 2, Fitbit has updated its most accessible device with improved design and features, including Active Zone Minutes. Fitbit added a new Health Metrics dashboard to the Fitbit app that lets you track and view changes in heart rate variability, breathing rate, and oxygen saturation. “he also stated.
