GoKawiilApple reportedly maintained its lead in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) market and saw modest year-over-year growth, even as overall shipments declined. Here are the details.
Open wireless stereo shipments counter true wireless stereo slowdown
According to a new report from Omdia (via MacMagazine), Apple shipped 16.8 million TWS devices during the second quarter of 2026, a 1.2% increase from the same period in 2025.
Despite the modest growth, Apple still outperformed the broader market, which declined 0.7% year over year.
Apple’s shipments amounted to 20.5% of the total TWS market for the period, nearly doubling Xiaomi’s 10.4% share in second place. Samsung came in third at 6.7%, followed by Huawei at 6.2%, and OPPO at 5.0%.
Other than Apple, OPPO was the only top-five vendor to see shipment growth. The figure, which includes devices from OnePlus, rose 14.9% year over year.
Interestingly, Omdia also reported worldwide shipments of open wireless stereo (OWS) devices, a subset of TWS devices.
Essentially, Omdia separates conventional TWS products, including in-ear and semi-in-ear earbuds, from OWS devices such as clip-on and ear-hook models that leave the ear canal open.
Omdia says the OWS market saw shipments grow 12% for the period, with Shokz taking the lead at 1.1 million units shipped, representing a 10.3% market share and 107.9% year-over-year growth.
During its “Surprise and Shine” event earlier this month, Apple’s VP of Hardware Engineering, Dave Pakula, referred to the new AirPods 5 as the company’s “beloved open-ear fit,” adding moments later that “AirPods 5 deliver the industry’s best ANC in an open-ear design.” Still, it appears Omdia did not consider the non-Pro AirPods part of the OWS market.
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