Wireless Earphones Under 100,000 Won Battle... Buyers Choose Even If Expensive

Wireless Earbuds Around 100,000 KRW: LG Joins Apple and Samsung
AirPods Pro Sales Over 300,000 KRW Exceed 10% of Total

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The battle for wireless earphones in the 100,000 KRW price range is heating up. Following Samsung Electronics and Apple, LG Electronics has joined the fray. The global wireless earphone market is expected to grow sharply, with sales projected to exceed 200 million units this year, up from 130 million units last year. Meanwhile, the premium earphone market in the 300,000 KRW range is also expanding, indicating that competition in the high-end segment will become even fiercer.

LG’s Retry VS Samsung’s Strong Performance

According to industry sources on the 29th, LG Electronics will launch a new wireless earphone model, 'Tone Free,' at a price in the high 100,000 KRW range by the end of this month. Priced similarly to Samsung’s Galaxy Buds and Apple’s AirPods, LG is making a bold move to challenge the duopoly of Samsung and Apple. In the second half of the year, LG plans to expand its wireless earphone lineup to four models, including products equipped with noise-canceling features.

LG Electronics first released the wireless earphone 'Tone Plus Free' in October last year. However, due to its relatively late entry into the wireless earphone market and a high price exceeding 250,000 KRW, it failed to gain significant traction. Previously, LG had sold over 20 million units of the neckband-style Bluetooth earphone series 'Tone Plus' since 2010, but it has been considered to have a weak presence in the wireless earphone market.

Galaxy Buds Live (tentative name) rendering image (Source: Twitter @rquandt)

Samsung Electronics, which releases one to two new wireless earphone models annually under the Galaxy Buds series, is raising expectations for the second half of the year. The anticipated product is the 'Galaxy Buds Live' (tentative name), likely to be unveiled at the August Unpacked event. This model features a kidney bean-shaped design and is expected to include fitness-related functions. Samsung previously offered features such as movement speed and distance measurement in the 'Gear IconX' released in 2018. It is also possible that active noise-canceling, like that in the AirPods Pro, will be included.

Since 2019, Samsung has replaced the 'Gear' brand with the 'Galaxy Buds' series. The company has also enjoyed success with color marketing that matches Galaxy smartphones, offering colors like pink, red, and purple. The 'Galaxy Buds+ BTS Edition,' released in collaboration with BTS on the 15th, sold out all pre-order stock.

AirPods Pro, 10% of Total... Bought Despite High Price

The wireless earphone market is influenced by technological changes in smartphones. With the disappearance of the earphone jack and the normalization of music streaming and online video services (OTT), wireless earphones have become essential for smartphone users. The market size for wireless earphones is expected to surpass 200 million units this year, up from 130 million units last year.

According to market research firm Canalys, shipments of wireless earphones in the first quarter reached 43.8 million units, an 86% increase compared to last year. The shipment rankings for the first quarter were Apple (18.1 million units), Samsung Electronics (4.5 million units), Xiaomi (3.1 million units), QCY (2.5 million units), and Huawei (2 million units).

Apple, leading the market, dominates the premium segment priced around 300,000 KRW. The AirPods Pro, sold by Apple in the first quarter at a price of 329,000 KRW, recorded sales of over 5.5 million units. This accounts for more than 10% of the total wireless earphone market. While the market is divided between the 100,000 KRW and 300,000 KRW segments, the industry expects strong growth in the high-end market going forward.

An industry insider said, "The increasing sales of Apple’s 300,000 KRW earphones suggest promising growth in the high-end market. It is also possible that Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will enter the 300,000 KRW earphone market."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.