Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi retained their top three positions in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) market in Q1, but only Apple grew shipments, reported Canalys Monday. Apple’s AirPods shipments grew 3% year on year to 19.3 million; Beats by Dre shipments jumped 555% to 2.4 million, driven by the Studio Buds and Fit Pro. Vendors are using audio names with strong brand equity in sound to expand their total addressable markets, said Canalys analyst Jason Low. Devices from sub-brands like Apple's Beats by Dre can depart from the vendors’ core design philosophy and develop their own unique styles and niches, Low said, saying, “That’s important in a category where design and feature homogenization are common." Samsung’s Galaxy Buds TWS shipments fell 13% in the quarter, while its JBL TWS shipments grew 31%. The overall TWS market grew 17% to 68.2 million shipments in the quarter. Skullcandy, in fourth, had a 53% unit increase to 3.3 million, Canalys said. The average selling price of the top five TWS vendors, which also included Xiaomi and Edifier, fell to $144 from $153 in the year-ago quarter, with Skullcandy, Edifier and JBL gaining share “after doubling down on the sub-$50 segment,” said analyst Sherry Jin. That segment is “likely to bear the brunt of rising costs and inflation” as “a crowded entry-level segment, rising costs and supply constraints also add to vendors' problems.” Manufacturers now need to explore niche use cases, such as mobile gaming, work and fitness, Low said.

Lenbrook Americas filled out the Dali Phantom series of speakers for the custom installation market with four new models, the company said Thursday. The new SKUs include the K-60 ($549 each) and K-80 ($699) in-ceiling speakers and the H-60 R ($549) and H-80 R ($649) in-walls, all with paintable grilles, it said.

RTX refreshed its RTX1290 audio module with higher digital signal processing performance, the company said Wednesday. The RTX1291 2.4 GHz module supports the company’s Sheerlink line for wireless audio products. The company said the Sheerlink products reduce wireless audio engineering complexity and “the uncertainty of the supply chain.”

The WiSA Association announced member Dynaudio’s WiSA HT interoperable certified Focus series, a complete wireless sound system including the Focus 10, Focus 30 and Focus 50. The series is available in select stores in Europe, Middle East and Africa and due worldwide this year, it said Friday. WiSA HT transmits and receives uncompressed 24-bit 48/96 kHz audio, supporting sound systems up to 7.1 and 5.1.2 channels, over a dedicated wireless network it creates, the association said. Each speaker in the Focus series has a full set of physical connections, including a subwoofer output with trigger, Dirac Live calibration options and WiSA connectivity to simplify wireless TV connections, it said.

Global headphone shipments grew 14% last year to 548 million, with 10% growth in retail value to $48 billion, Futuresource reported Friday. The headphone market, “already riding high” from work- and learn-from home trends, benefited from a post-COVID-19 spending rebound, said analyst Saranraj Mathivanan. Supply chain challenges affected brands differently, said Mathivanan: “White label and smaller manufacturers felt more of the squeeze, as prominent brands tended to be given priority,” he said, though parts shortages and freight costs and delays “resulted in slimmer profit margins for everyone.” True wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds had more than half of the market, with 55% of global headphone shipments, up 10% from 2020 to over 300 million, Futuresource said. TWS revenue was $34 billion, up 17%.

Cleer Audio introduced the ARC true wireless earbuds ($129) with an open ear design. The buds don’t cover the ear canal; instead, they have an earhook with a flexible hinge design and channel sound into a user’s ears, said the company. Battery life is given as seven hours. Features include Bluetooth 5.0, AptX and the Cleer+ app for adjusting equalization, customizing music playback and receiving firmware updates.

Bowers & Wilkins used the Integrated Systems Europe show to launch amplifiers and in-wall subwoofers. The 1,000-watt, two-channel CDA-2HD ($2,500) amplifier has embedded digital signal processing for optimizing equalization of B&W subwoofers; the CDA-4D ($2,000) is a compact four-channel distribution amp. The ISW-8 ($2,500) in-wall subwoofer, with a thin profile, is the flagship model; the ISW-6 ($1,300) is matched to B&W’s CI300 and CI600 speakers. All models are due to ship in October.

Bowers & Wilkins and Lenovo partnered a second time on a laptop speaker system, this time for the Lenovo Slim 9i 14-inch PC due in the U.S. in June starting at $1,799. It builds on their relationship developing the Yoga 9i. The four-speaker sound system includes two integrated into the main chassis and two larger mid/bass down-firing speakers mounted in the base, B&W emailed Tuesday. The Slim 9i has a 4K OLED touch-screen display.

An era ended at Apple Tuesday with the announcement it's phasing out its last iPod, the touch. The music player will be available "while supplies last," Apple said. “Since its introduction over 20 years ago, iPod has captivated users all over the world who love the ability to take their music with them on the go,” said the company in a product update, saying the ability to “take one’s music library out into the world” has been extended across the company’s product line in computers, tablets, smartphones, Apple Watch, Apple TV and the HomePod mini. “The spirit of iPod lives on,” said Greg Joswiak, senior vice president-worldwide marketing. Models were available at Apple Tuesday in 32 GB ($199), 128 GB ($299) and 256 GB ($399) versions in six colors. Best Buy listed the iPod touch Tuesday as an MP3 player; prices were $229 for 32 GB and $349 for the 128 GB version. The 256 GB model was sold out at bestbuy.com. Apple didn’t respond to questions on how long it will support the devices via software updates.

THX said Thursday it’s licensing 3D audio and personalization technologies from VisiSonics for use in THX Spatial Audio tools for game developers and music creators. The technology is expected to be part of upcoming THX hearables offerings, it said. THX Spatial Audio will bring an “immersive edge” to creators to deliver personalized experiences to audiences, said CEO Jason Fiber. The agreement includes personal head-related transfer function tools for headset designers, plus tools for developing immersive audiogram products in the hearables field, they said.