New Delhi, Jun 3 (IANS): The global TWS hearables market managed to sustain its growth trend amid the pandemic as its sales grew 44 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) in the first quarter of 2021, a report said on Wednesday.

According to research firm Counterpoint Research's latest Global Hearables (TWS) Market Report, Apple dominated the over-$100 segment with 57 per cent share, followed by Samsung at 17 per cent.

"In highly competitive markets like Asia and Europe, Samsung achieved a double-digit share with good performance of all the models," Liz Lee, Senior Analyst, Counterpoint Research, said in a statement.

"Samsung successfully introduced the Galaxy Buds Pro, timed to connect with the launch of the Galaxy S21 in January. The company also pushed the sales of earlier models like the Galaxy Buds Live and Plus through aggressive marketing promotions," Lee added.

China showed the highest growth YoY while North America continued to occupy the largest share, the report said.

In the sub-$100 segment, the total share of the top 10 brands, including Xiaomi, fell due to the diversification of industry participants and intensifying competition.

The share of the over-$100 segment dropped through the last year as more consumers decided to go with the mid-range and budget TWS amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the segment's share slightly recovered in Q4 2020 and reached 46 per cent in Q1 2021.

This indicates the market focus is starting to shift to the mid-to high-price segment slowly, the report said.

"Skullcandy is another notable brand with growth potential across low- to mid-end TWS wearable," Lee said.

"The brand is now expanding its market, especially in the sub-$100 segment in the US, through favourable responses for new budget models such as the Dime and Dime XT," Lee added.