airpods: Four reasons why the ‘craze’ for AirPods has slowed down – Times of India

Five years, four models and after millions of units being sold, it does look like the craze for AirPods is finally slowing down. A report by research firm Canalys reveals that the global AirPods shipments fell drastically in Q3 2021. For a while now, the AirPods have been setting quite a fast pace in the true wireless market. Apple still remains the undisputed leader but the numbers are dwindling. Here are four reasons why people aren’t that ‘crazy’ about AirPods:
The numbers game
Before we get into the reasons, let’s take a look at the numbers. According to Canalys, Apple shipped about 17.8 million units of true wireless earbuds — this includes the ones old under the Beats brand — in Q3 2021. AirPods shipments are down 33.8% as in the corresponding quarter last year, Apple had shipped 26.8 million units. Apple remains the market leader with a 24.6% market share but this number too is down from 37.6% in Q3 2020.
Too many players in the market
The TWS market has grown rapidly in the last few years. Almost every smartphone brand, audio brand and even the likes of Amazon have true wireless earbuds of their own. The Canalys numbers prove this. Almost 49% of the market was accounted by “Others”, which means that a lot of players have been chipping away at the sales of AirPods. “Audio players, such as Jabra, Sony and JBL, are now taking an increasingly aggressive stance by peppering TWS models across a range of price points,” said Canalys Research Analyst Sherry Jin.
The ‘replacement’ cycle is long for AirPods
People who have AirPods don’t change them for at least two years unless they go kaput. If you have a pair of any AirPods, chances are that they will last easily for more than two years. This means that the existing customers don’t upgrade too regularly and adding new customers in an ultra-competitive space is a challenging task.
Apple’s ‘delay’ in refreshing the AirPods line up
Almost every brand launches multiple options every year. Take the case of Samsung, which has two ‘flagship’ TWS in 2021. Samsung is second in the market 12% market share. Players like Jabra too launch multiple devices every year. In comparison, Apple in five years has had three AirPods variants in TWS and one AirPods Max in the over-the-ear category. People end up waiting for newer AirPods to arrive but they don’t come sooner than expected. Apple has adopted a two-year update cycle till now but that might change as the new AirPods Pro are expected later next year. The third-gen AirPods were launched in October and in all probability will turn out to be a bestseller. At least, Canalys expects. “Together with the release of the third-generation AirPods, the global TWS market is expected to return to robust growth in Q4 in time for the holiday season,” the research firm noted.
Cheaper alternatives galore
In India, the cheapest AirPods you can get is for Rs 12,500, which is the second-gen variant and launched in 2019 — almost two years old. Consumers have far too many options with brands offering premium features at prices less than the AirPods. The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 — singled out by Canalys as one of the main reasons for the brand’s growth — are priced at Rs 11,999 in India. OnePlus sells its Buds Pro at less than Rs 10,000. Then there are the likes of Nothing, Oppo, Jabra — who all have offerings cheaper than the AirPods. Not to forget the likes of Boat — fifth largest brand in the world — who have so many choices at different prices for customers. The AirPods remain an aspirational choice and the right pair for those in the Apple ecosystem but beyond that, the customer has multiple choices and at a lesser price.