China's Bluetooth Headphone Market in the First Half of 2024 Growth and Trends
TapTechNews August 5th news, according to the latest China Wireless Headphone Market Monthly Tracking Report released by the International Data Corporation (IDC), in the first half of 2024, the shipment volume of the Chinese Bluetooth headphone market reached 55.4 million units, with a year-on-year increase of 20.8%.
Among them, the shipment volume of true wireless earphones was 35.08 million units, with a year-on-year increase of 5.6%; the open-ear headphone market showed strong growth, with a shipment volume of 11.84 million units in the first half of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 303.6%.
IDC believes that in the context of the double-digit year-on-year growth in the overall shipment volume of the Chinese Bluetooth headphone market in the first half of 2024, different forms of products show significant development differences. The main contents of the report attached by TapTechNews are as follows:
1. The growth of true wireless earphones is still driven by price reduction
In the first half of 2024, the growth of true wireless earphones slowed down. With the popularization of active noise reduction technology, the technical barriers of the product have significantly decreased, and at present, there is a lack of new technologies that can be significantly perceived by consumers to drive the market.
The price war in the true wireless market is fierce, and the leading manufacturers accelerate the layout of entry-level products, and there are also promotional policies tied to mobile phones to promote low-priced products. Small and medium-sized manufacturers roll on price and technology, resulting in serious product homogeneity; long battery life, deep noise reduction, and low price have become the mainstream in the market. At present, price reduction is still an important factor driving the growth of the true wireless market. In the first half of 2024, the shipment share of the price segment below 200 yuan (including tax) has reached 65%, an increase of 11 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
2. The open-ear headphone continues to grow strongly
By form, the shipment volume of true wireless ear-hook products increased by 1015% year-on-year in the first half of 2024, and the shipment volume of ear-clip products increased by 522%. Bone conduction with certain technical barriers and specific user groups has entered a relatively stable stage, and the shipment volume increased by 34% in the first half of 2024.
Compared with the crazy expansion in 2023, the quarter-on-quarter growth rate of the open market in 2024 has slowed down. Among them, the market share of the leading brands in the ear-hook market is diluted, and the subsequent leading brands still need to expand their influence by enriching the product line and channel expansion. As the leading manufacturers deeply layout and consumers' popularization of the awareness of this product, the open market will gradually transition from the window period to the shuffle period, and the leading brands need to be reshaped.
3. The neckband headphone continues to decline in scale
The shipment volume of neckband headphones decreased by 24.1% year-on-year in the first half of 2024. In the long run, the scale of this category will continue to decline, mainly affected by two points. One is that the true wireless and open type play a certain substitution role. With the gradual popularization of the positioning function of true wireless headphones, the anti-loss advantage of neckband headphon es is further squeezed; the other is that in the high price segment, the leading manufacturers reduce the investment in this category and only use it to complete the product line.
4. The shipment volume of on-ear headphones warms up
In the first half of 2024, the shipment volume of on-ear headphones increased with the new products of the leading brands. In addition to the new products of the regular replacement models, international audio manufacturers began to layout the sub-flagship series, and the market above 1000 US dollars became more segmented. Domestic audio manufacturers focus on entry-level products. The diverse needs of consumers are met.
IDC predicts that the overall shipment volume of the future Bluetooth headphone market will still maintain a slow growth trend. Among them, the true wireless that has become the mainstream will still maintain a leading advantage; the open type will gradually stabilize after passing the window period in 2024; the neckband market will gradually shrink; it is expected that the on-ear market can obtain a slight growth due to certain technical barriers and the relatively stable demand of consumers for high-quality audio.
