Cases, Earbuds, and Watches - Apple Dominates Where It Wants To

Yesterday in our Amazon report, we looked at streaming music service competition on smart speakers. We compared Amazon Echo, Google Home/Nest, and Apple HomePod, including how their proprietary streaming music services perform and how these compete with Spotify, the leading independent in the market. The data for Apple Music on HomePod was a bit … extreme. In last week’s Apple report, we looked at streaming music and video for all Apple customers, which seemed more forgiving. Today we move back from services to hardware, specifically accessories.

Earlier, we compared how Apple AirPods (wireless Bluetooth earbuds) and Apple Watch differ in sales among Apple and Android smartphone owners. Here, we extend that analysis and compare their sales to another prominent, but less sophisticated accessory - iPhone cases.

Apple sells Apple branded iPhone cases. They compete with a wide range of brands, most notably Otterbox. Apple retail sells Apple, Otterbox, and several other brands, in the physical and online Apple Stores.

Among iPhone owners, AirPods and Apple Watch are dominant. Over half of iPhone owners with a Bluetooth headset have AirPods, and over 90% of iPhone owners with a smartwatch or fitness tracker have an Apple Watch (Chart 1).