Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) maintained its lead in the global True Wireless Stereo (TWS) segment despite suffering a drop in shipments in the third quarter.

What Happened: The Tim Cook-led company shipped 17.8 million units of its AirPods, AirPods Pro, and Beats wireless buds under the TWS category in Q3 2021, as per market analyst firm Canalys on Tuesday in a statement. This is a decline of 33.7% over the same period last year when it shipped 26.8 million units.

Apple held a 24.6% share in Q3 2021, while in Q3 2020 its share amounted to 37.6%. In second place was Samsung with 12% of the market share — the numbers included its Harman subsidiaries. Xiaomi Corporation (OTC:XIACF) came in at the third spot with 6.8% of the market share.

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Why It Matters: The drop in Apple TWS shipments was caused by users waiting for the release of the third-generation AirPods, according to an Apple Insider report.

The overall growth in TWS devices amounted to 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. About 72.7 million units were shipped in Q3 2021, while in the same period last year 71.3 million units were shipped, as per Canalys. 

“Competition continues to heat up as vendors try to capture the rising TWS demand,” noted Canalys. The firm said TWS growth is bound to accelerate going ahead after the release of the third-generation AirPods. 

“The global TWS market is expected to return to robust growth in Q4 in time for the holiday season,” said Canalys. 

Meanwhile, Apple is near touching a $3 trillion valuation, which would make it the first company to do so.

Price Action: On Tuesday, Apple shares fell 0.8% to $174.33 in the regular session.

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