IDC: In the first half of 2025, the global wearable ear market shipment volume reached 170 million units, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%.

The IDC "Global Wearable Device Market Quarterly Tracking Report" data shows that in the first half of 2025, the global ear-worn market shipped 170 million units, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%. Among them, the shipment volume of open-style products accounted for 10.1%, a year-on-year increase of 61.1%, leading the global market growth with its novel appearance and emerging conduction technology. Open-style products mainly include neck-hanging, ear-clip, and ear-hook styles. Among them, ear-clip products stand out with their delicate appearance and unique wearing method. In the first half of 2025, their shipment volume accounted for 41.6%, a year-on-year increase of 89.3%, becoming the fastest-growing category among open-style products. Ear-hook products, which started earlier than ear-clip products, attracted widespread attention due to their comfort and stability, with a shipment volume increasing by 78.9% year-on-year. Neck-hanging products mainly focus on bone conduction technology, are more inclined towards sports scenes, and are the earliest and most stable form among open-style products, with a shipment volume increasing by 6.0% year-on-year. China and the United States are the main markets for open-style globally, accounting for over 80% of the shipments. Additionally, the Asia-Pacific and Western European markets are rapidly developing with the increasing maturity of products and user acceptance. The global open-style market is mainly dominated by Chinese manufacturers, with companies such as Huawei and Shao Yin focusing on the high-end market. Huawei leads the ear-clip market with new trends, while Shao Yin holds a dominant position and first-mover advantage in the global bone conduction and ear-hook markets. Audio manufacturers such as Soundcore, Mobvoi, and Sennheiser are gradually penetrating the offline retail channels from online. The global open-style market mainly shows the following three characteristics: 1. Diversified players and dominance of the Chinese market: The overseas open-style earphone market is still in a period of rapid development, with demand being released and the market landscape not yet stable. China is the earliest and fastest-growing core market for this category, with Chinese manufacturers being the main driving force of global growth. In the future, more Chinese audio manufacturers will increase their efforts to go global, relying on supply chains, cost advantages, and R&D capabilities, combined with local demand localization, to further expand their influence in the international market. 2. Simultaneous development of ear-clip and ear-hook styles: Unlike the situation in the Chinese market where the ear-clip style is gradually surpassing the ear-hook style in terms of development speed, in overseas markets, both ear-clip and ear-hook products have their own demand and are still in a stage of synchronous development. The differences in demand among overseas consumer groups are more pronounced: ear-hook styles are favored by sports enthusiasts due to their stable wearing experience, while ear-clip styles attract users in daily commuting, office, and other scenarios with their lightweight and unique advantages, each occupying a stable niche market. 3. Two-tier development: The open-style earphone market is mainly concentrated in two price ranges: below $50 and above $100. Products below $50 are usually cost-effective products that attract entry-level or early adopter users with unique appearances, serving as an entry point for the category. Products above $100 combine advanced technology, high-quality materials, AI assistants, and other functions in mid- to high-end products. Manufacturers focus on acoustic, wearable, and smart development, targeting advanced users with high requirements, thereby promoting the technological advancement and value enhancement of the category. This two-tier pricing distribution not only covers different consumer needs and reflects market maturity but also provides clear entry points for new manufacturers. IDC China Research Director Pan Xuefei believes that open-style earphones have evolved from a niche segment of the ear-worn market to become an important growth engine for the industry. The Chinese market has experienced an early outbreak, driving the maturity of the supply chain and laying the foundation for the scale of the category. Chinese audio manufacturers leverage the advantages of "new form + new technology" in open-style earphones to accelerate their expansion overseas, potentially breaking through barriers and achieving overtaking on bends, especially in developed regions such as Europe and the United States. This may help to alleviate issues of saturation and homogenization in the traditional true-wireless market, as well as exploring the space for brand premium and technological value. In the future, the Chinese market is expected to lead the global open-style earphone industry from "scale expansion" to "high-quality competition", reshaping the market landscape of ear-worn products.