Open-ear wireless earbuds are transitioning from niche comfort products to a significant segment of the global audio market, experiencing robust shipment growth and expanding from budget to premium offerings, driven by performance improvements and changing user needs.
Open-ear wireless earbuds are moving from a niche comfort product to a meaningful part of the audio market, according to Omdia data reported by ecoustics. Global shipments of open wireless stereo models rose 12% to 11.1 million units in the second quarter of 2026, while conventional true wireless stereo shipments fell 0.7% to 82.1 million units, their first annual decline since the second quarter of 2023. Open-ear products now account for 13.5% of global TWS shipments, up from 12% a year earlier.
The shift is being led by clip-on designs. Omdia says clip-on models made up 61% of open wireless stereo shipments in the quarter, ahead of ear-hook styles at 39%. The category is also broadening across price bands. Shipments in the sub-$50 segment jumped 323% year on year, while the $100 to $199 band rose 253%, suggesting demand is growing both for budget models and for more established premium offerings.
The market remains dominated by sealed earbuds, but the consumer case for open-ear products is becoming clearer. They are better suited to runners, cyclists, commuters and office users who need greater awareness of their surroundings or simply prefer less pressure in the ear canal. Omdia expects vendors to lean further into fitness, commuting and productivity use cases, while adding more software features and tighter ecosystem integration. That leaves sound quality as the central engineering challenge, because open designs cannot rely on the acoustic seal that helps traditional earbuds deliver stronger bass and isolation.
Manufacturers are responding with more serious hardware. Bose this week unveiled new open-ear models aimed at both sport and premium listening, while Shokz continues to expand in the category with clip-on and hooked designs. Sony has also pushed into the segment with its LinkBuds Clip, and less expensive rivals are now bringing in features such as high-resolution codecs, multipoint connectivity and water resistance at lower prices. The result is a category that is no longer defined by compromise alone.
Apple still leads the wider true wireless market, shipping 16.8 million units in the second quarter of 2026, according to 9to5Mac’s summary of Omdia data. But the broader message from the numbers is that growth is shifting. Open-ear earbuds are not replacing conventional true wireless models, yet they are creating a durable second lane in personal audio. Omdia forecasts annual open wireless stereo shipments will rise from 43.9 million units in 2026 to 90.5 million by 2030, which would bring the format close to one-fifth of the market.
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