Brandwave

How popular isAirPods in search?

In September 2026, there were an estimated 14.9M branded searches for AirPods worldwide which is down 10% over the last 12 months. AirPods holds 59.1% estimated Share of Search among headphone brands worldwide and is ranked 1st of 9 competitors for search popularity. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, September 2026
  1. AirPods59.1%
  2. JBL17.3%
  3. Sony14.2%
  4. Beats5.9%
  5. Skullcandy2.2%
  6. Jabra1.2%
  7. Sennheiser0.02%
  8. Bose<0.01%
  9. Marshall<0.01%
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Which headphone brands compete with AirPods?

AirPods against headphone brands worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for AirPods, JBL, Sony, Beats, Skullcandy. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthAirPodsJBLSonyBeatsSkullcandyJabraSennheiserBoseMarshall
Oct 202563.8%15.6%11.3%5.8%2.1%1.4%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%
Nov 202562.9%17.2%11.3%5.5%2%1.1%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%
Dec 202562.1%18.1%11.4%5.4%2%0.89%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%
Jan 202657.3%19.2%14.1%5.9%2.2%1.2%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%
Feb 202657.1%17.6%15%6.3%2.3%1.6%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%
Mar 202659.9%16.5%13.9%5.7%2.5%1.4%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%
Apr 202653.1%23.3%14%5.9%2.2%1.5%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%
May 202654.1%21.8%14.6%6%2.2%1.3%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%
Jun 202654.6%21.9%14.2%5.8%2.1%1.3%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%
Jul 202653.3%21.4%16.2%5.7%2.1%1.3%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%
Aug 202654.4%20.9%15.8%5.3%2.4%1.2%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%
Sep 202659.1%17.3%14.2%5.9%2.2%1.2%0.02%<0.01%<0.01%

  1. 1.AirPods

    59.1%

    Held 1st. 14.9M estimated branded searches, +18.3% vs prior month. Share +4.7 points.

  2. 2.JBL

    17.3%

    Held 2nd. 4.4M estimated branded searches, -9.7% vs prior month. Share -3.6 points.

  3. 3.Sony

    14.2%

    Held 3rd. 3.6M estimated branded searches, -1.8% vs prior month. Share -1.6 points.

  4. 4.Beats

    5.9%

    Held 4th. 1.5M estimated branded searches, +23% vs prior month. Share +0.7 points.

  5. 5.Skullcandy

    2.2%

    Held 5th. 550K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -0.2 points.

  6. 6.Jabra

    1.2%

    Held 6th. 300K estimated branded searches, +4.7% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  7. 7.Sennheiser

    0.02%

    Held 7th. 4.1K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  8. 8.Bose

    <0.01%

    Held 8th. 1.9K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  9. 9.Marshall

    <0.01%

    Held 9th. 1.6K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Compare search popularity between AirPods and its closest rivals

Every comparison with AirPods

How has branded search demand for AirPods changed worldwide over the last 12 months?

  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for AirPods worldwide fell from 16.6M to 14.9M.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, AirPods’ estimated Share of Search among headphone brands worldwide decreased from 63.8% to 59.1%.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, AirPods’ estimated Share of Search among headphone brands worldwide peaked at 63.8% in October 2025 and was lowest at 53.1% in April 2026.

How did search popularity change for headphone brands worldwide in September 2026?

  1. In September 2026, AirPods gained estimated Share of Search among headphone brands worldwide, from 54.4% to 59.1%.

  2. In September 2026, Beats gained estimated Share of Search among headphone brands worldwide, from 5.3% to 5.9%.

  3. In September 2026, JBL lost estimated Share of Search among headphone brands worldwide, from 20.9% to 17.3%.

  4. In September 2026, Sony lost estimated Share of Search among headphone brands worldwide, from 15.8% to 14.2%.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Bose worldwide fell 20.8% over 12 measured months, from 2.4K to 1.9K in September 2026.

  6. Estimated monthly branded searches for Sennheiser worldwide fell 18.2% over 12 measured months, from 5K to 4.1K in September 2026.

Where does AirPods compete?

AirPods is ranked in two competitor sets. Each share is worked out among that set's brands, so it differs from set to set.
Competitor setRankShare of SearchRanking
Headphone brands1st of 959.1%Shown above
Earbud brands1st of 578.8%Show ranking

How is AirPods measured?

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using AirPods’ name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading.

4 branded search terms

  • airpods
  • airpods 4
  • airpods pro
  • airpods pro 3

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Who owns AirPods?

AirPods is owned by Apple. Brandwave also tracks Pixelmator, Apple AirTag, Apple Maps, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple TV 4K, Apple Vision Pro, Apple Watch, Final Cut Pro, Find My, GarageBand, iCloud, Keynote, Logic Pro and Safari, owned by the same company, worldwide.

Do you work for AirPods? To request corrections or removal please contact us via our support page and we will be happy to assist.

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