LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 17, 2026--
Global true wireless stereo (TWS) shipments fell 0.7% year-over-year (YoY) to 82.1 million units in the second quarter of 2026, according to the latest data from Omdia, marking the first YoY decline since 2Q23. Mainland China, the world’s largest TWS market, accounted for much of the decline, with shipments falling 9.5% as the boost from broader consumer electronics stimulus faded and replacement demand was partly pulled forward into 2025. Shipments also declined in other top markets, including the US and India, while growth in emerging markets helped partially offset these declines.
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OWS outpaces conventional TWS
The broadly flat TWS market masked a widening performance gap between conventional TWS—comprising in-ear and semi-in-ear products—and open wireless stereo (OWS). Omdia estimates that conventional TWS shipments declined 2% in 2Q26, while OWS shipments grew 12% to 11.1 million units, increasing OWS share of total TWS shipments to 13.5% from 12.0% a year earlier.
“The OWS category has a relatively low entry barrier, while product quality remains critical to differentiation, creating opportunities for a broad range of vendors,” said Claire Qin, Research Analyst at Omdia. “OWS is rapidly becoming an important area for new feature development, particularly around longer listening experiences and AI-enabled functionality across various usage scenarios.”
Clip-on designs lead OWS growth
In the second quarter of 2026, clip-on OWS accounted for the majority of shipments, while growth extended across multiple form factors and price segments.
“The premium clip-on segment remains highly competitive, with sound quality a key area for differentiation. Vendors that address these challenges have greater scope to support premium pricing among consumers looking for a combination of functionality and style,” added Qin.
AI features emerge as the next battleground for TWS
Intense competition in the TWS market is also accelerating innovation in AI-enabled earbuds.
“AI-driven features are becoming an important area of differentiation in premium audio, ranging from intelligent earbuds with integrated natural processing units (NPUs) to companion applications powered by large language models (LLMs),” said Jason Low, Research Director at Omdia. “Users will continue to prioritize comfort, audio quality, call quality, and active noise cancellation (ANC) performance. At the same time, AI features have the potential to support further adoption As consumers increasingly look for functionality that helps them complete tasks and improves the overall user experience.”
Omdia expects OWS to remain one of the most promising growth areas within TWS over the coming years. Annual OWS shipments are forecast to increase from 43.9 million units in 2026 to 90.5 million units by 2030, representing nearly one in five TWS shipments.
“Successful vendors will need to tailor products to clearly defined use cases—fitness, commuting, and office productivity—while adding smarter features through seamless ecosystem integration,” concluded Low.
ABOUT OMDIA
Omdia, part of Informa TechTarget, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTGT), is a technology research and advisory group. Our deep knowledge of tech markets grounded in real conversations with industry leaders and hundreds of thousands of data points, make our market intelligence our clients’ strategic advantage. From R&D to ROI, we identify the greatest opportunities and move the industry forward.
Global TWS shipment forecast by wearing-form, 2023- 2026
Global TWS shipments and YoY growth rate, 2Q23-2Q26
