Bloomberg:

AirPods have come to define the true wireless (TWS) earphones category, with Apple accounting for nearly half of all sales in 2019 and expected to grow to 82 million units this year, according to Counterpoint Research data. More affordable alternatives from Chinese rivals, however, have eroded Apple’s lead and the Silicon Valley company now finds itself with just over a third of the market, at 35%, followed by Xiaomi Corp. with 10% and Samsung Electronics Co. on 6%, according to the researchers.

Follow the link, check the pie chart to see how splintered the earbuds market has become. It’d be interesting to see a pie chart based purely on iPhone users. It’d also be interesting to see a pie chart based on revenue, rather than units sold.

Apple made the market, showed the world how much money there was in making/selling earbuds. The market matured and the lower end of the market was underserved, the other makers filled the vacuum.

Also interesting that this same market phenomenon does not seem to apply to the Apple Watch. This tech is just harder to master, for one thing. But earbuds are also easier to divorce from an ecosystem designed to include it.