Apple still reigns the TWS market – but guess who just shoved Samsung aside?

A new Canalys research report shows that Apple is still maintaining its position as the global market leader in wireless headphones for Q1 2025. The Cupertino tech giant has achieved 18.2 million shipments and captured a 23.3% market share. Meanwhile, Samsung has unfortunately lost its second place globally... to Xiaomi.

New data suggest that Apple (including Beats) is still dominating the TWS (True Wireless Stereo) market. There's a slight decline from the first quarter of 2024 in shipments (23.3% from 24.4%), but Apple has still seen a 12% year-over-year growth. Apple's growth contributed greatly to the global market's rebound.

Meanwhile, total global TWS shipments grew to 78.3 million units, which is an 18% annual increase. Curiously enough, this is the fastest growth rate for this market since 2021.



Reportedly, brands are pursuing an aggressive expansion both geographically and by capturing new customers. Apple's growth is partially attributed to the addition of health-related features and Apple's ecosystem.

Features like seamless device switching, spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, and hands-free Siri are among the features differentiating Apple's AirPods from the overall market.

Looking at the bigger picture, in North America apple holds over 50% market share. North America is an established market, and Apple maintains its lead in all similar established markets. For emerging markets,  vendors offering aggressive pricing are competing more vigorously with Apple.

For example, Xiaomi gained a 63% year-over-year increase in shipments and reached 9 million units. It surpassed Samsung and claimed second place globally.

Samsung (which includes subsidiaries like JBL) held a more modest 7.1% share and shipped 5.6 million units. Huawei and Indian brand boAt took fourth (6%) and fifth (4.9%) place in terms of market share respectively.

According to the report, the broader market is shifting away from just needing basic audio functionality. Now, people are leaning toward lifestyle and ecosystem value, which places Apple in a very good position. The researchers attribute the new growth in the U.S. market to inventory buildup caused by expected tariff changes (retail partners stockpiling products).



Meanwhile, the report also highlights a new trend: the growing momentum of OWS (Open-ear wireless devices). This is a category of earbuds that has an ear-hook and ear-clip design for a more ambient listening experience.

OWS devices are still behind TWS devices in terms of pure audio quality, but according to the report, some vendors are looking for ways to enhance the sound and narrow this gap. Currently, Apple has not joined this trend just yet.