Earphone and Headphone Market

Earphones/headphones are a pair of listening devices that are worn on, over, or in the ear, or around the head depending on the type of use such as hearing music and tape recording among others. There are several types of earphones and headphones, namely earbuds, in-ear-canal headphones, full-size headphones, and canal buds. Technological advancements in the industry have further led to the development of lightweight Bluetooth headphones that have noise cancelling capabilities and long battery life. For instance, in January 2019, Bose Corporation filed a new patent for earbud insertion sensing method with infrared technology. The technology aims at extending the battery life of earbuds by automatically deactivating it when not in use.

The increasing adoption of these headphones and earphones in gadgets, including mobile phones, tablets, and MP3 players, and changing consumer patterns who are increasingly demanding high-end products are factors fueling the growth of the market. Furthermore, the growing trend of product miniaturization, supported by technological advances such as wireless technology, active noise cancellation, and bone conduction have led to the demand for headphones and earphones with new functionalities.

This study on the global earphones and headphones market provides detailed information on industry trends and dynamics, market size, competitive landscape, and growth opportunities. This research report categorizes the earphones and headphones market by product type, application, and region/country. Based on product type, the market is segmented into wired headphones, wireless headphone, wired earphones, and wireless earphone. Among these, the wireless earphone segment is estimated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. By application, the market is segmented into fitness/sports, gaming & AR/VR, media & entertainment, corporate, and others. The fitness/sports segment is witnessing significant growth, owing to the increasing demand from athletes and sportspersons for biometric headphones include data such as track heart rate fluctuations, running/fitness metrics, calories burned, and distance travelled within a specific time.

The regions included in the study are North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the rest of the world. North America is anticipated to dominate the earphones and headphones market during the study period owing to the strong presence of market players and high penetration of the product in the region that creates high demand for technology upgrades for high-tech audio products. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow with the fastest CAGR from 2018 to 2023. The growth is attributable to the growing urban population and rise in disposable income that has largely impacted the lifestyle of consumers leading to growing investments in gadgets and related accessories.

The earphones and headphones market is highly competitive with the presence of many vendors that offer feature-rich and innovative earphones and headphones to their customers. The major vendors profiled in the study are Apple Inc. (US), Sony Corporation (Japan), Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Bose Corporation (US), Skullcandy Inc. (US), AIAIAI ApS (Denmark), AKG Acoustics GmbH (Austria), Audio-Technica Corporation (Japan), Beyerdynamic GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Creative Technology Ltd (Singapore), Denon Electronics, LLC (US), Grado Labs, Inc. (US), House of Marley, LLC (US), and Jays Group AB (Sweden).

The market players are following several organic and inorganic growth strategies, such as product enhancement, product launch, partnership, agreement, and collaboration to improve their position and excel in the global earphones and headphones. In January 2019, Xiaomi Corporation launched a Bluetooth earbud—Mi AirDots Pro in China. A product similar to Apple’s AirPods, Mi AirDots Pro is water-resistant with touch controls that support a Bluetooth reception and a beamforming microphone. Similarly, in January 2019, Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG launched two premium category Bluetooth headsets—Presence Grey UC and Presence Grey Business.