If you thought Apple's crushing dominance of the global "high-level" smartwatch market between July and September 2022 was impressive (which it absolutely was), prepare to get your mind blown (again) by the latest quarterly true wireless earbuds sales numbers.
These are not remarkable in the least on the whole, adding a measly 6 percent to the 72.2 million unit shipments of Q3 2021, but Apple's 34 percent year-on-year growth is a pretty amazing achievement... made almost entirely possible by one new product.
That's right, the second-gen AirPods Pro many of the company's hardcore fans had been expecting for a good couple of years only needed eight days to consolidate and extend the worldwide lead of their makers over arch-rival Samsung.
The gap between the number one and two TWS (true wireless stereo) vendors now stands at more than 16 million units (!!!) and 21.3 percentage points in market share, with the AirPods Pro 2 alone apparently accounting for 4.2 million shipments during this year's third quarter.
That's at least according to the latest Canalys estimates, and given that Apple's newest noise-cancelling earbuds were unveiled on September 7 and commercially released on September 23, the industry leaders somehow managed to move an average of more than half a million AirPods Pro 2 units a day through the end of that month.
In contrast, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro saw daylight in August, and instead of boosting Samsung's market share, they caused a decline in sales compared to the third quarter of last year, thus clearly proving far less popular than the non-Pro Galaxy Buds 2.
For what it's worth, the market's silver medalist did manage to improve its numbers from Q2 2022, although said progress was nothing next to Apple's own surge from a 27.8 percent slice of the pie and 17.5 million unit sales to 30.9 percent and 23.8 million.
Further down the manufacturers table, Xiaomi slipped from third to fourth place, being surpassed by an India-based brand called boAt that's not exactly very big outside of its homeland, which perfectly highlights the size and importance of said local market right now.
Looking forward to Q4 and beyond, "macroeconomic pressures" felt across many different segments of the consumer electronics industry of late are expected to force most major brands to keep prices low and use "aggressive discounting" to try to "sustain shipment levels", which sounds... like a bargain hunter's wet dream.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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