--- title: "Apple AirPods vs Sony: Which is searched more in Australia?" description: "Is Apple AirPods or Sony more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Headphone brands set in Australia. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/au/compare/airpods-vs-sony" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Apple AirPods vs Sony: Which is searched more in Australia? Is Apple AirPods or Sony more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Headphone brands set in Australia. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Apple AirPods and Sony - **Competitive set**: Headphone brands - **Market**: Australia - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Apple AirPods Share of Search**: 60.7% - **Sony Share of Search**: 9.8% ## Is Apple AirPods or Sony more popular in search? - In September 2026, Apple AirPods had more branded searches than Sony among headphone brands in Australia. Apple AirPods had about 246,000 branded searches, while Sony had 39,700. Apple AirPods made up 60.7% of all headphone brand searches we track, and Sony accounted for 9.8%. - Apple AirPods was ahead of Sony in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Apple AirPods’ share of searches among headphone brands in Australia moved from 60.2% to 60.7%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 201K to 246K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Sony’s share of searches among headphone brands in Australia moved from 9.7% to 9.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 32.5K to 39.7K. ## Top headphone brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, both Apple AirPods and Sony showed up in all five answers. Sony was listed before Apple AirPods in every answer. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sony | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Bose | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Apple AirPods | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Soundcore | 4th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Sennheiser | 5th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | JBL | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Beats | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Skullcandy | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Jabra | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Marshall | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about headphone brands - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best noise cancelling headphones?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Sennheiser, 4. Apple AirPods - Asked ChatGPT "Which wireless earbuds should I buy in Australia?": 1. Sony, 2. Apple AirPods, 3. Soundcore - Asked ChatGPT "Which headphones are best for travel?": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Soundcore, 4. Apple AirPods - Searched Google, AI Overview "noise cancelling headphones": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Soundcore, 4. JBL, 5. Apple AirPods - Searched Google, AI Overview "best headphones": 1. Sony, 2. Bose, 3. Apple AirPods, 4. Sennheiser Not named in any answer: Beats, Skullcandy, Jabra and Marshall. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in Australia on October 26, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for Australia headphone brands in September 2026? - In September 2026, Apple AirPods lost share of searches among headphone brands in Australia, from 61.6% to 60.7%. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Sony in Australia rose 22.2% over 12 measured months, from 32.5K to 39.7K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Apple AirPods estimated searches | Apple AirPods Share of Search | Apple AirPods rank | Sony estimated searches | Sony Share of Search | Sony rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 201K | 60.2% | 1 | 32.5K | 9.7% | 2 | | Nov 2025 | 301K | 61.4% | 1 | 48.6K | 9.9% | 2 | | Dec 2025 | 301K | 63.5% | 1 | 48.6K | 10.3% | 2 | | Jan 2026 | 201K | 62.6% | 1 | 32.5K | 10.1% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | 165K | 59.7% | 1 | 28.8K | 10.4% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | 201K | 62.2% | 1 | 33.7K | 10.4% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | 165K | 60.4% | 1 | 27.6K | 10.1% | 2 | | May 2026 | 201K | 61.4% | 1 | 33.7K | 10.3% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 201K | 60.7% | 1 | 33.7K | 10.2% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 201K | 60.4% | 1 | 33.7K | 10.1% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 246K | 61.6% | 1 | 39.7K | 9.9% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 246K | 60.7% | 1 | 39.7K | 9.8% | 2 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Apple AirPods’ and Sony’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Apple AirPods**: Measured on the search term “airpods”. - **Sony**: Measured on the search terms “sony earbuds” and “sony headphones”, summed into one figure. - [Apple AirPods profile](/demand/au/brands/airpods) - [Sony profile](/demand/au/brands/sony) - [All headphone brands in Australia](/demand/au/categories/au-headphone-brands): The set both shares are measured inside, 10 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Apple AirPods or Sony more popular in search? In September 2026, Apple AirPods had more branded searches than Sony among headphone brands in Australia. Apple AirPods had about 246,000 branded searches, while Sony had 39,700. Apple AirPods made up 60.7% of all headphone brand searches we track, and Sony accounted for 9.8%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Apple AirPods vs Sony: Which is searched more in Australia?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/au/compare/airpods-vs-sony This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/au/compare/airpods-vs-sony. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.