Apple may or may not have dominated the global smartphone market during the first three months of this year (depending on who you ask), but as far as tablet and true wireless earbuds sales are concerned, no one can contest or threaten the supremacy of the Cupertino-based tech giant.
AirPods are the most popular (and profitable) earbuds around (by a mile)
While Smart Analytics Global (SAG) researchers provide no insight into Apple‘s evolution in the so-called TWS (true wireless stereo) market between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026, Canalys estimated around this time last year the company’s industry-leading share at 23.3 percent.
There’s clearly no catching Apple anytime soon in global wireless earbuds sales. | Image by Smart Analytics Global
That might sound like Apple’s slice of the pie is actually getting smaller (or roughly staying the same), but last year’s 23.3 percent included Beats as well, and this year’s 23 percent is all derived from the AirPods family.
Beats, mind you, holds a solid 8 percent market share of its own, standing just three percent behind silver medalist Xiaomi and defeating every vendor lumped together in the “others” category, from Samsung to Huawei, Sony, Bose, and ultra-budget-focused brands like Boat.
Apple’s supremacy is even clearer and harder to challenge anytime soon in the revenue department, as the high prices of the popular new AirPods Pro 3 (and the enduring AirPods Pro 2) yielded a 44 percent share for the product portfolio as a whole as far as value is concerned. In other words, Apple scored less than a quarter of the industry’s shipments but nearly half of the worldwide revenue in the January-March 2026 timeframe… without also considering the Beats roster.
Samsung’s salvation could come from an unexpected place
I don’t know whether Samsung is ranked fourth or worse in Q1 2026 wireless earbuds sales, but either way, the company cannot be satisfied with its market position on the heels of the Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro launches.
Quirky-looking buds like the Huawei FreeClip 2 are surging in mainstream popularity all of a sudden. | Image by PhoneArena
Apparently, “open hook” and “open clip” designs are all the rage nowadays, with products in these sub-categories growing in popularity like crazy while more conventional wireless earbuds are stagnating due to their intrusive and often uncomfortable designs.
Of course, open-ear-style buds are surging from relatively low sales numbers last year, but this definitely seems like the perfect time for Samsung to try something different with the “Galaxy Buds Able.” Will that product prove more successful than the AirPods 4 or AirPods Pro 3? Almost certainly not, but it could well breathe some much-needed fresh air into an otherwise pretty stale and repetitive Galaxy Buds lineup.
The market will continue to grow
Thanks primarily to these aforementioned open-ear products (think the likes of Shokz OpenDots and Huawei FreeClip 2), but also Apple’s broad geographical dominance and steady AirPods sales, the TWS market has expanded by 4 percent in Q1 2026 compared to the same period of 2025.
That’s not very significant growth, but growth is growth. | Image by Smart Analytics Global
That’s obviously not the industry’s greatest year-on-year progress in history, but it’s definitely better than what’s happening in the smartphone and tablet markets, especially with decent growth predicted for the end of both this year and the next.
Yes, total 2026 shipments are expected to go up from last year’s 334 million unit tally to 344 mil (representing a 3 percent surge), followed by another small but notable jump of 2 percent to nearly 350 million in 2027. And yes, Apple is still likely to account for the largest chunk of those numbers (by far).
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’.
