Hearables Market: Size, Dynamics, Regional Insights and Market Segmentation

Hearables market was valued at USD 32.03 Billion in 2022, and it is expected to reach USD 62.33 Billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 9.98% during the forecast period (2023-2029).
Market Overview:
Hearables present an extraordinary opportunity for innovation at the convergence of personalized audio and wellness technology. Hearables have evolved and beheld many improvements in technology and application over the past years. The transformation of consumers’ preferences from wired to wireless headphones has affected the hearables market. Because wireless headphones are enabled with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology, which allows the users to link their phones to other devices and headsets, wireless communication via Bluetooth technology has been a turning point for headphones. Wireless headphones are interconnected via wireless connectivity technologies such as Bluetooth, digital enhanced cordless telecommunication (DECT), Wi-Fi, cellular network, and others.

Hearables, an advanced electronic device, is designed for multi-purpose use ranging from communication to wireless transmission, medical monitoring to fitness tracking, etc. These devices also perform various functions like listening to audio signals, heart rate tracking, voice-based personal assistants, environment-based noise suppression or audio enhancement, contextual location-based suggestions, gesture & touch-based control, and short-range and long-range inter-team communication.

The hearables market is segmented by type into on ear, in ear and over ear. By product the market is segmented into headsets, earbuds and hearing aids. By end-user, the market is segmented into consumer, industrial, mining, manufacturing, construction, healthcare, others. By connectivity technology, the market is segmented into wired, wireless, bluetooth, Wi-Fi, DECT, others. By Application, the market is segmented into industrial wireless audio/voice application and industrial noise cancellation application. The market is segmented by geography into Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East & Africa.

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COVID-19 Impact on Hearables Market

Manufacturers faced supply delay

Hearables manufacturing companies faced shipment delay of at least 5 weeks from suppliers due to the pandemic and lockdown. COVID-19 had a negative impact on manufacturers because of the shipping delays from China, Europe, US and other leading suppliers. The shipping delays had chain of cause and effect for the manufacturers and suppliers. The supply chain faced more and varied pressures and disruptions as the virus spread all over the world.

Companies were affected due to shipping delay

Major companies in hearables market got affected due to COVID‐19 including Apple Inc., GoPro Inc., Canon Inc., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., Nikon Corp., LG Electronics Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Toshiba Corp., Panasonic Corp., and few others. Apple had been affected the most because more than 90% of Apple's products are made in China and the Chinese marketplace accounts for 18% of Apple’s revenues.

Counterfeit factors had a major negative impact

The counterfeit sectors had shown an increasing curve which affected authorized producers manufacturing the products. Therefore, the need of inspections towards the verification of authentication and genuinely of products is necessary for the suppliers and manufacturers.

In COVID-19, the counterfeit factor had activated to obtain higher profit margin. Thus, eliminating counterfeit issue had become a challenging task for the market.
Hearables Market Dynamics
Wireless Headphones and Infotainment Devices in demand

The evolution of headphones from wired to wireless has affect the market growth significantly. The hearables market has witnessed vast improvements in terms of technology over the past decade. The sales of hearables devices is growing at a high rate and headphones are major contributor to the market. Headphones are the major accessories for devices such as laptops, mobiles, digital music system, vehicle infotainment devices, smart TV, etc. Smart headphones provide many benefits like high-definition sound quality, convenience, multiple user facility, and freedom from wire maintenance, mobility and portability. Therefore, increase in use of infotainment devices is one of the factors driving the growth of the hearables market.

Rapid Technological Advancements and Emerging Hearable Computing in Voice User Interface

Hearable computing is said to be the next emerging technology in the coming years. It offers hands-free calling and communication, which is a crucial necessity of consumers. In addition, it safeguards voice communication in a noisy background and provides a solution by combining signals from in-ear and external microphones.

Execution of technologies such as Wi-Fi, noise cancelling technology, Bluetooth/NFC speakers, , contextual location-based suggestions, fitness & heart rate tracking language translation, voice-based personal assistants, environment-based noise suppression or audio enhancement, and gesture & touch-based control, have led to increase in adoption of smart headphone across commercial and domestic sectors. Thus, all these factors of emerging hearable computing in hearable devices assist in increasing the market growth.

Miniaturized Wearable Electronic Devices for Health Monitoring

Rapid progressions in the trend of wearable health devices in the consumer market has impacted the growth of hearable market. Consumers are investing in smart hearables to monitor health status and prevent from the threat of hearing loss in extreme noise conditions. Somehow, COVID-19 has made an impact on health conscious consumers and led the growth of hearables market.

The revolution of technology in the miniaturization hearables devices is allowing to design more reliable & portable wearables and contributing to the continuously changing health monitoring tactic. All these factors of emerging wearable health devices succour in rapid growth the hearables market.

Wireless Headphones is expected to hold Significant Market Share

The ever-changing preference of consumers is expected to drive the growth of hearables market. The increasing demand for mobility services is also fuelling the hearables market growth.

New technological advancements of wireless headphones are the significant and primary drivers of the market. For example, Apple launched Airpods Pro, in 2019, which is combined with Active Noise Cancellation and immersive superior sound. This device also provides additional benefits such as Audio sharing, Voice-activated Siri, and Eartip fit test.

Hearable computing is the most rapidly emerging technology that offers hands-free calling and communication to ensure noise-free mobile communication to its customers. In 2020, Xiaomi launched Mi AirDots 2 SE, which is a cost-effective solution for its customers and also provides smart voice control along with touch controls for volume and track change.

High use of Hearables affect Hearing Ability

Overuse of headphones and high cost of industrial hearables has adverse effect on the hearing ability which hamper the growth of hearables market globally. The increasing focus towards adoption of hearing devices to prevent hearing loss are expected to offer remunerative opportunities for the hearables market. Each of these factors is projected to have a significant impact on the hearables market during the forecast period.

Hearables are starting to Scratch the Surface

Sleep, or the lack thereof, has become a Global Health concern. There have been many companies advertising music and audio programming for sleep solutions, with above-mentioned Liquid Mind being one of the most popular series. However, individual real-time metrics and better testing are needed to conclude which approaches work best.
Bose Sleep Buds (now on V2) probably win out for the form factor for current sleep options. Unfortunately, they lack sensors and could benefit from noise cancellation (a Bose signature), richer set of audio solutions, and more seamless software and content integration. The demand for music and audio programming to help with sleep will continue to grow, with the growing awareness around sleep as a foundation for nearly every health issue.
Hearables Market Segment Analysis
The global hearables market trends are analyzed across various segments including product, type, connectivity technology, end user, and region.

Depending on the products, the market is categorized into headsets, earbuds, and hearing aids. Among headsets, earbuds and hearing aids, headsets dominated the hearables market in 2022. However, with changing trends and consumer preferences hearing aids are estimated to dominate the future hearable market. Hearing aids can help consumers with wide range of hearing issue, such as hearing loss and some balance issues, and are the most widely used hearable equipment. Hearing aids are popular because they outperform other devices with similar functions and are less expensive. They have long-lasting batteries and thinner designs that make them more comfortable and preferred among consumers.



On the basis of type, the market is bifurcated into on ear, in ear, and over ear. On ear type is expected to be the fastest-growing hearables during the forecast period. The main reason for the rise in on ear type hearables throughout the forecast period because it has less negative effect on consumers hearing abilities compared to in ear and over ear devices.



The connectivity technology segment is sub-segmented into wired and wireless technology, among which the wireless technology segment is further categorized into Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, DECT, and others. The increase in demand for wireless headphones is majorly contributing to the hearables market growth, due to shift in preference of consumers from wired headphones to wireless headphones. The wireless earbuds and headphones are enabled with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology, which enable the users to link their phones to other devices and headsets. Also, wireless earbuds have smart capabilities such as communication, tracking via fitness applications and health monitoring. Due to this, wireless technology segment is estimated to dominate the hearable market through forecast period.

Based on end user, the market is categorized into consumer, industrial, contruction, manufacturing, mining, healthcare and others. Consumer industry is estimated to dominate the hearable market through forecast period. Consumer segment is to be the greatest contributor to the hearables market growth. Industrial and healthcare segment holds a significant share of the market after consumer industry.



By application, the market is segmented into industrial wireless audio/voice application and industrial noise cancellation application. Industrial noise cancellation application segment is expected to dominate the hearables market through 2022 to 2029. Noise cancellation is trending and in demand in the industry sector and market players are vigorously focusi88888ng on technology upgrading, product differentiation, product sensitivity and aggressive pricing, which is likely to drive the growth of the hearables market.


Hearables Market Regional Analysis
Asia Pacific region is estimated to hold the largest market share and dominate the global hearables market through the forecast period. Industrialization and rapid urbanization in developing countries like India, China, Japan, etc are the major drivers of the market. Moreover, surge in the spending of electronic goods and increasing penetration of jack-less mobile phones are increasing the demand for hearables devices in Asia-Pacific region, more precisely in India, Japan and China.

The primary drivers of flourishing e-commerce market for Asia Pacific region are the rapidly growing blockchain technology, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT), For example, Flipkart has over 100 million registered users and holds 43% share of entire India's e-commerce market and Alibaba covers 80% of the total online sales in China. This e-commerce market is fuelling the wireless headphones and earbuds market growth i.e, hearables market growth in the region.

Most of the consumers in Asia Pacific region are price sensitive. Hence significant vendors in this market are offering price-sensitive hearables devices that can support them to supply to this untapped market. For instance, Sony launched WH-CH710N, which was not only affordable to the consumers but it was specially designed for work from home solutions during COVID 19 pandemic situation.

Xiaomi, a chinese designer and manufacturer of consumer electronics and related software, released Mi AirDots 2 SE. Mi AirDots 2 SE not only provides a cost-effective alternative for consumers but also has smart voice control as well as touch controls for volume and track switching.

 

North America region is expected to hold a significant share of the global hearables market. United States is expected to account for approximately 86.7% of North America hearables market through forecast period. There has been an increase in expansion of supermarkets and hypermarkets in United States coupled with rise in e-commerce industry. These retail chains will be the prime distribution channels for the hearables devices. The increasing disposable income of consumers in North America is also one of the major reasons for driving the sales of hearables devices, which further drives the growth of hearables market in the region.

Factors expected to drive the growth of European hearables market are raising awareness, rising demand for smart electronics and increasing purchasing power of consumers. In agreement with noise cancellation, the need of protocols is estimated to generate ample opportunities for hearables market growth. Technological launches and innovation in Europe region will benefit the sales of hearables devices and drive the growth through the forecast period.

In Europe, Germany is estimated to account for 45.8% value share of the European hearables market through 2022 to 2029. German consumers have high prospects when it comes to technologically advanced products. With speedy expansion in automotive industry, consumers in Germany prefer high performance products which are expected to expand the sales of hearables devices over the forecast period.
Competitive Analysis of Hearable Market
Leading players operating in the Hearables Market are Apple, Inc, Samsung Electronics Co., Bose Corporation, Sony Corporation, BRAGI GmbH, Sennheiser Electronic GMBH & Co., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Ltd., KG, Sonova Holding AG, WS Audiology A/S, Xiaomi Corporation, Skullcandy, Inc, Jabra (GN Store Nord A/S), and LG Electronics. Product innovation and advancement in technology is likely to further raise the bar of competition in upcoming years. The major key players have adopted strategies, such as acquisitions, partnership, product portfolio expansion, agreements, and collaborations to enhance their position in hearable market.

Companies such as Sennheiser and Bose are integrating hearable technology into headphones, while technology companies, like Apple, Google and Samsung, are producing earbuds that incorporate sensor platforms and AI capabilities. Apple’s AirPods have so far dominated the space and made hearable technology desirable.
Many of the companies are entering into distribution and manufacture partnership for hearable devices to expand their global market presence.

Hearable companies which prototype and design their products with advanced capabilities, will position themselves higher in the market. For instance: GN Group, in April 2020 launched Re sound assist live to provide a new hearing care solution and is expected to reduce the need for in-office visits of older during COVID 19 pandemic situations. However, GN's innovative solutions can offer the broadest range of at-home hearing care services for those suffering from hearing loss.

Starkey Unveils Evolv AI, in August 2022, launched the most Innovative line of Hearing Aids which is the second generation of the smartest hearing aid offering effortless hearing, effortless connection and effortless selection.
In January 2022, Oticon Inc. introduced Oticon More, the first hearing aid with an on-board deep neural network (DNN), to provide those with mild to severe hearing loss with a broader, more balanced, and more effortless listening experience.
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Global Hearable Market


Report Coverage
Details


Base Year:
2022
Forecast Period:
2023-2029


Historical Data:
2018 to 2022
Market Size in 2022:
US $ 32.03 Bn.


Forecast Period 2023 to 2029 CAGR:
9.98%
Market Size in 2029:
US $ 62.33 Bn.


 Segments Covered:
by Type
On Ear
In Ear
Over Ear


by Product
Headsets
Earbuds
Hearing Aids


by End-User
Consumers
Industrial
Healthcare
Construction
Manufacturing
Mining


by Connectivity Technology
Wired
Wireless
Bluetooth
Wi-Fi
DECT
Others


by Application
Industrial Noise Cancellation
Industrial Wireless Audio



Global Hearables Market, by Region
North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)
Europe (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Austria and Rest of Europe)
Asia Pacific (China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Rest of APAC)
Middle East and Africa (South Africa, GCC, Egypt, Nigeria and Rest of ME&A)
South America (Brazil, Argentina Rest of South America)
Key Players in Hearables Market
1. Apple Inc.
2. Bose Corporation
3. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
4. Sony Corporation
5. Sennheiser Electronic GMBH & CO. KG
6. Koninklijke Philips N.V.
7. Bragi GMBH
8. Skullcandy, Inc.
9. Jabra (Gn Store Nord A/S)
10.LG Electronics
11.Xiaomi Corporation
12.GN Group
13.Sivantos
14.Starkey Hearing
15.Doppler
16.Miracle-Ear
17.Valancell
18.Earin AB
19.Eargo
20.AKG
21.Audio-Technica
22.Edifier

Frequently Asked Questions:

1] What segments are covered in the Global Hearables Market report?
Ans. The segments covered in the Hearables Market report are based on Type, Product, Connectivity Technology, End-User, Application, and Region.

2] Which region is expected to hold the highest share in the Global Hearables Market ?
Ans. The Asia Pacific region is expected to hold the highest share in the Hearables Market .

3] What is the market size of the Global Hearables Market by 2029?
Ans. The market size of the Hearables Market by 2029 is expected to reach USD 62.33 Bn.

4] What is the forecast period for the Global Hearables Market ?
Ans. The forecast period for the Hearables Market is 2023-2029.

5] What was the market size of the Global Hearables Market in 2022?
Ans. The market size of the Hearables Market in 2022 was valued at USD 32.03 Bn.