True Wireless Shipment Growth Slowed Q2 on AirPod Slump: Canalys

True wireless stereo (TWS) headphone shipment growth narrowed in Q2 on a 25.7% drop in Apple AirPod shipments, reported Canalys Friday. The category may be reaching a peak, with worldwide Q2 shipments growing 6.4% to 58.3 million, Canalys said. The global smart personal audio market grew by 4.7% overall, reaching 99.8 million units in the quarter. Apple still leads the true wireless category, but its share fell below 30%, with its “steep decline” partly due to a tough comparison to the year-ago quarter, said Canalys analyst Jason Low. “Despite the ups and downs, Apple’s key advantage is clear -- it has a user ecosystem that is heavily faithful to its products,” Low said. A new AirPod release this fall should “prop the category up again, but the growing saturation of its iOS and macOS installed base could be a cause of worry.” Samsung is “catching up” with 8.8% share, up 41% year on year to 5.2 million units, by bolstering self-branded and sub-branded true wireless offerings “especially with JBL under the Harman subsidiary,” said the analyst. Skullcandy had 285% growth in the quarter, for 7% global share, on 4.1 million shipments. Skullcandy’s success came from its “aggressive pivot to an affordable and cheerful TWS lineup such as Dime, Jib and Sesh,” which target a younger demographic than Samsung or Apple, Low said. Partnering with Bragi, Skullcandy “claims to offer a better handsfree experience, but it will be crucial to ensure the user experience lives up to expectations, and not marketing hype,” he said. The other two categories in the smart personal audio market, wireless headphones and wireless earphones, had 3% and 2.1% growth, reaching 15 million and 26.5 million units.