REPORT HIGHLIGHT

The global TWS Earphone Battery market was valued at USD 700 million in 2020 and is growing with 33% CAGR during the forecast period, 2021-2027.

TWS stands for True Wireless Stereo. It is different from Bluetooth earphones. These are truly wireless earphones with a head unit and battery case or charging case. With the increase in usage of earphones, consumers are mainly concerned with the cell life of True wireless stereo earplugs. Battery being a fundamental powerhouse of this gadget, the lithium cell market for True wireless stereo earphones saw parallel growth in the last 5-6 years. As of now, TWS earphones are powered by lithium batteries because of their high energy density.

Market Dynamics

With the increase in the volumes of electronics wearables and specially TWS headsets, the rechargeable lithium battery market for True wireless stereo earphones is anticipated to see tremendous growth in the forecast period of the next 5-10 years. The cell market is majorly driven by the demand for devices that are powered by it. With the digital revolution which is expected to set in developing countries especially in the APAC region, the adoption of smartphones and screen-time is increasing rapidly. Apart from being used as a music hearing device, TWS headsets are also coming up with new features such as heart rate measures and other sensors for consumer delight. More features added to a TWS earphone directly increase the need for power which in turn drives the growth of the cell market.

The promotion of an integrated digital ecosystem is another major driver for the industry. Players such as Apple and Samsung sell their headphones as an accessory with their mobile phones. This allows them to increase the demand for the batteries as well as a tie-up with original equipment manufacturers to keep a steady demand flow. With the increase in the disposable income of consumers, they are also expected to move from mid-price segments to the higher price segments. This leads to an increase in the demand for high-quality batteries for sustaining higher quality electronics. Premium brands have started adding more features in headphones promising a longer battery life in their systems which is another key driver for this industry

There is also an increase in the aspiration of True wireless stereo headset manufacturers to enhance the consumer experience, which in turn increases the scope of improvement and innovation in cell technologies. Button batteries are used in most of the TWS headsets and soft or polymer batteries are used in charging cases. Industrial veterans are of the view that more wearables and IoT devices will use button batteries in the upcoming decade. For instance, As of December 31, 2019, Yiwei Lithium Energy's consumer lithium-ion cell capacity including bean-type lithium-ion cell capacity utilization rate, production, and sales rate was close to 100%. 

Another key driver is the explosion of the e-commerce industry, promising the delivery of goods within days. Consumers are finding it easier to shop for electronics with price and quality transparency. The Indian TWS market saw a record shipment of 8.4 million units in the year 2020. This leads to the conclusion that the growth in the e-commerce industry leads to easier access to the True wireless stereo headphone market which in turn fuels the growth of the battery market.

Battery Type Takeaway

Based on product application, these batteries are bifurcated for charging cases and headphones. The major market share is held by the application in headphones capturing up to 30%. Major bifurcation of the TWS headset battery can be done based on shapes and sizes as per the requirement of the TWS device. There are majorly three types of batteries that are used: bean cell, button cell, pin type. Bean type & button batteries are used in-ear sets as they provide good packaging feasibility for a compact headset.

For charging units, soft batteries are used which are similar to smartphone batteries. Nowadays battery manufacturers are also developing soft batteries for charging pack to improve their charging capacity in terms of no. of full charge & customizing it in various shapes as per packaging needs.

In terms of cell capacity, increasing features of TWS headsets have increased the power requirements. Batter capacity can rise to 50mAh in a cylindrical shape to up to 70-80mAh in button & bean types. For rechargeable batteries, capacity can also rise to 300-400mAh. It is expected that the use of button batteries is set to boom as it provides a great fit for various packaging needs in small & compact IoT & communication devices.   

Application Takeaway

Based on application, the global market is bifurcated into Normal TWS earphones and Athletic TWS earphones. The normal TWS earphones category accounted for a major share in 2019 and had more than 30% of the market revenue share in the same year. The increased adoption of wireless earphones by consumers due to lockdown measures is a major reason for an increase in demand. The work-from-home shift has surged the demand in the volume of wireless headphones used. There is also a rising demand for athletic TWS earphones, because of consumers becoming health conscious and wanting to use earphones while working out.

Regional Takeaway

Based on the geographic demand of the TWS battery segment major regions are North America, Asia Pacific (APAC) & European counties such as UK, Germany & France. The North American & European market is leading in terms of scientific development in the research domain because of a high focus on intellectual properties, with North America having up to 30% of the market share. On the other hand, developing regions such as India, China, and other South Asian countries are focusing on gaining expertise in manufacturing facilities. As the APAC region is expected to drive growth in terms of income and expenditure in upcoming decades, demand from these countries is expected to drive the growth of the TWS industry. With increasing income levels, the use of electronic gadgets is expected to increase which can give impetus to electronic wearables. These optimistic viewpoints combined with government & private initiative give rise to the regional player to expand their market base. Companies such as Xiaomi and Real Me are proof of this in the smartphone industry.

COVID-19 Impact

The Corona crisis came as a blessing in disguise for the TWS headphone segment. As more and more people started working online, the demand for wearable electronics shot up and so did the demand for lithium batteries. Because of the regional and local lockdowns in impacted countries, the supply chain of the battery market was disrupted during the initial periods of the COVID crisis. This gave impetus to local battery players to fill the gap and strengthen the domestic supply chain. Because of the boost to virtual working set-up, usage of portable gadgets like TWS headsets increased. With local and global players increasing their production capacity, the battery market is set to expand. 

Key Vendor Takeaway

Many of the headsets manufacturers outsource manufacturing of batteries and their research & development to regional players mainly in the APAC region and other developing countries. Major players include VARTA AG, Samsung SDI, Panasonic, EEMB, Tenergy, Renata, LG Chem, VDL, Guangzhou Great Power Energy &Technology, Jiangsu CEL Battery, YJ Power Group Limited, and so on.

Battery manufacturing is mostly a regionalized operation with global players like Samsung & Panasonic leading the research domain. Major battery manufactures are concentrated in the APAC region because of low production costs and labor charges. China is leading the pack with other south Asian counties trying to improve their share in battery manufacturing. These local players in collaboration with tech companies for their expertise in research work are trying to improve battery capacity by keeping its size and application safety in check.

The market size and forecast for each segment and sub-segments has been considered as below:

• Historical Year – 2016 to 2018
• Base Year – 2019
• Estimated Year – 2020
• Projected Year – 2021 to 2027

TARGET AUDIENCE

          Manufacturers

          Raw Material Suppliers

          Distributors

          Original Equipment Manufacturers

          Research Organizations

          Government and Regional Agencies

SCOPE OF THE REPORT

The scope of this report covers the market by its major segments, which include as follows:

GLOBAL EARPHONE BATTERY MARKET KEY PLAYERS

          LG

          German VARTA

          ATL

          Yi Wei Li Neng

          Guoguang Electronics

          Veduli

          Smart key Technology

          Penghui Energy

          Sunwoda Electronic

          SAMSUNG SDI

          DESAY

          Panasonic (Sanyo)

          BYD

          Murata

          COSMX

GLOBAL EARPHONE BATTERY MARKET, BY PRODUCT TYPE

          Pin Type

          Coin Type

GLOBAL EARPHONE BATTERY MARKET, BY APPLICATION

          Normal TWS Earphones

          Athletic TWS Earphones

          Others

GLOBAL EARPHONE BATTERY MARKET, BY REGION

          North America

o          The U.S.

o          Canada

          Europe

o          Germany

o          France

o          Italy

o          Spain

o          the United Kingdom

o          Rest of Europe

          Asia Pacific

o          India

o          China

o          South Korea

o          Japan

o          Rest of APAC

          Latin America

o          Brazil

o          Mexico

o          Argentina

o          Rest of LATAM

          The Middle East and Africa

o          Saudi Arabia

o          the United Arab Emirates

o          Rest of MEA