India TWS shipments grow 723% YoY in Q3 2020, led by boAt, Xiaomi, realme

India’s TWS market growth soared 723% YoY in Q3 2020, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s IoT service. It is one of the few segments which managed to defy the impact of economic slowdown, reaching its highest ever growth in shipments for a single quarter.

Research Associate Anam Padha said, “Inventory build-up prior to the festive season, along with a good number of new launches and entry of new players like OnePlus, vivo and Infinix, drove this substantial TWS growth. Besides, work-from-home and study-from-home due to the COVID-19 pandemic continued to boost demand.”

Exhibit 1: India TWS Market Share by Top Five Brands, Q3 2020

Talking about smartphone OEMs’ IoT strategy, Research Analyst Shilpi Jain said, “Most of the smartphone OEMs now have entered the CIOT segment and are expanding their TWS portfolios across price-tiers to benefit from the huge potential it holds. Increase in ‘stay at home’ activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic have also boosted the demand for TWS. The smartphone OEMs have managed to carve a significant place for themselves in the segment by leveraging their already established brand awareness and sales channels.”

Discussing the ASP for TWS, Jain added, “India TWS ASP increased for the first time since 2019, largely due to the increase in Apple AirPods shipments and new launches in higher price tiers. Apple’s decision to not include wired EarPods with its new iPhone 12 series evidently helped it to increase the demand for AirPods.”
CT Bureau

Exhibit 2: Top 5 Best-selling Models in India TWS market, Q3 2020