AirPods held a disproportionately large share of the global wireless headset market in 2020, according to a new report by Strategy Analytics.
With sales of over 300 million units, the True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Bluetooth headset sales market grew by almost 90 percent last year. Apple's AirPods own almost half of the entire market, with the rest being made up of a large number of companies with individually small shares.
In spite of Apple's dominance, Strategy Analytics notes that its lead is shrinking as competition intensifies:
"Apple maintained a commanding lead in the TWS segment in 2020, but its commanding share is shrinking as competition intensifies. Strong competition is expected from Xiaomi, Samsung, and Huawei in 2021," said Ken Hyers, Director at Strategy Analytics. "The TWS headset market is already hugely overcrowded and despite a strong sales outlook, there will inevitably be consolidation in the years ahead."
It is expected that there is still "plenty of potential in the broader Bluetooth headset market," due to low penetration and an install base that remains small. According to Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics, "less than one in ten people own a Bluetooth headset globally, so there is still significant room for growth." In addition to this, as vendors move away from bundling wired headsets with new smartphones, Strategy Analytics foresees considerable growth potential in the market.
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more.
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Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
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Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:26 am PST by Tim Hardwick
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Black Friday deals have begun, and Amazon is one of the best places you can find steep discounts on numerous products this week. We've already collected all of the best Apple-related deals you'll find at Amazon (and other retailers) in our Apple Black Friday Deals post, so below you'll find other discounts on devices like Anker accessories, Beats headphones, video games, TVs, and more.
Note:...
McDonald's sells more hamburgers than any other restaurant. Does that make them the best product too?
AirPods happen to be the best product, the most popular and a very sought after one, which translates in an almost unbelievable resale value. Your analogy is out of place.
And now I have a pair of B&O E5 and AirPods with dead batteries, useful to neither man nor beast. while I have wired sets of B&O H6, form2 and some cheap Grados which still work perfectly. My new MW60s will be used in wired mode for as long as humanly possible.
With good reason. The AirPods Pro might be the most versatile and handy true wireless earbuds out there. And after the Spatial Audio update they got a noticeable bump in sound quality.
PS. I also have the Sennheiser Momentum TW2 and even though they destroy the APP in sound quality it's cumbersome to switch modes and the call quality is totally off, so I default back to the APP.
