The launch of apple airplads has brought the competition of headphones into the "wireless" track. As more and more mainstream domestic mobile phone manufacturers cancel the 3.5mm headphone interface, TWS (true wireless stereo) headphones usher in the peak of market increment. This has also attracted lithium battery manufacturers to add to this track.

Gaogong lithium battery noticed that due to the recent cold in the e-cigarette market, some lithium battery manufacturers have turned their attention to the TWS headset battlefield with high growth.

"In recent years, the market demand for TWS headphones is very hot. It is conservatively estimated that the market demand for lithium batteries for TWS headphones will reach about 300million in 2020." This is the market prediction of the high-level executives of Vitelli, Guoguang electronics and Zhijian technology company for the lithium battery demand of TWS headphones next year.

According to a set of data, we can also see how big the air outlet of TWS headphone lithium battery will be next year:

At present, the unit price of TWS earphone battery in the high-end market is 10-20 yuan / piece, the middle-end market is 5-10 yuan / piece, and the low-end (Shanzhai) market is less than 5 yuan / piece. Take the middle value of 8-15 yuan in the middle and high-end market,It means that the market space of TWS lithium battery will be at least 2.4-4.5 billion yuan in 2020.

Although compared with the power battery market, this scale is not worth mentioning. However, TWS earphone market is in a period of rapid growth, and TWS lithium battery can still maintain a high gross profit margin. A gross profit margin of 50% means that the market profit scale can reach 1.2-2.3 billion yuan.

Some securities companies even analyzed that based on the growth of TWS battery market and the development potential of Yiwei lithium energy in this field, once Yiwei lithium energy achieves full production in TWS battery supply, it will be possible to "create another Yiwei" in 2021.

This shows the profit imagination of TWS lithium battery.

TWS lithium battery "threshold"

At present, lithium batteries for TWS headphones are mainly divided into headphone batteries and rechargeable compartment batteries. In terms of morphology, the earphones are mainly bean batteries; Semi earphone batteries are mainly needle batteries and polymer soft pack batteries; The charging compartment battery is mainly polymer soft wrapped square battery.

Based on the good demand of the terminal market, the market penetration of TWS headphones is constantly improving. From the perspective of TWS headphone supply chain manufacturers,The battery enterprises that have joined the company include LG, German varta, ATL, Yiwei lithium energy, Guoguang electronics, Vitelli, Zhijian technology, Penghui energy, Meini, etc.

Gaogong lithium battery learned that according to the design schemes of different manufacturers, the battery capacity of mainstream headphones in the market is currently concentrated at 30-60mah, the battery capacity of the charging compartment is 8-10 times that of headphones, and the cycle life is 80% of the cycle capacity of 500 weeks.

Xuxianqiang, sales director of Vitelli, said that customers mainly focus on four aspects when choosing TWS batteries: first, high energy density (TWS endurance); Second, high security (no drum, no leakage); Third, long cycle life (charging many times almost every day); Fourth, the basic safety and reliability of other UL and CE.

In fact, in terms of product safety, TWS battery has been relatively secure in terms of safety. With the involvement of more and more battery manufacturers, some manufacturers also began to make breakthroughs in cost price and product performance.

Wang Dan, marketing director of Guoguang ElectronicsRevealed that the cost is on the one hand, the current domestic TWS battery market price war has begun. In terms of product performance, high capacity and long cycle are the key points for enterprises to break through. Among them, 80% of the 500 cycle capacity of lithium batteries is the most basic threshold. At present, there is no higher requirement, but at a higher level, some manufacturers can achieve 80% of the 800 cycle capacity. This is undoubtedly more attractive to customers.

From the perspective of technology trend, the requirements of TWS earphones for batteries in the future are smaller and smaller, and the capacity is higher and higher. Gaogong lithium battery learned that because it is difficult for small batteries to overcome the energy density, some battery manufacturers are increasing the battery capacity by increasing the voltage.

Opportunities for lithium battery enterprises

TWS lithium batteries correspond to medium and high-end smart consumer electronics. Overseas TWS lithium batteries continue to grow at a high speed driven by Apple airplads. At the same time, the cost performance advantage of domestic TWS headphones has begun to highlight, and the market share is also rising.

For lithium battery enterprises, only by closely following the market, meeting customer needs, constantly optimizing product performance, improving the yield / straight through rate of production line, and reducing costs, can they get a share in the market.

Hanyanqing, general manager of Zhijian TechnologySaid that the company's TWS batteries are mainly supplied to LG and overseas markets. For international customers, their choice of suppliers is particularly rigorous, and the most important thing is the comprehensive ability of suppliers in product research and development, production and manufacturing, quality control, cost control and so on.

Gaogong lithium battery learned that the general problem faced by TWS lithium battery manufacturers is the improvement of production line pass through rate. At present, the general pass through rate in TWS lithium battery industry is 70% - 80%, and the goal to obtain a higher profit pass through rate is to reach more than 90%.

Wang Dan said that based on the emphasis on brand effect, international manufacturers and the four major domestic mobile phone brand manufacturers have higher requirements for the process capability of suppliers and for automated production lines, including quality control and system certification of production lines. Therefore, for suppliers, the initial cost is also relatively high.

From the perspective of market trends, as the leader of TWS headphones, with the changes of airpods from generation 1 and 2 to pro, and the follow-up of domestic manufacturers, pin batteries (placed at the tail of headphones) or gradually turn to bean batteries (placed in headphone cavity).And polymer soft packaging will still occupy an important place in the middle and low-end market.

Xu Xianqiang believes that the button battery will become the market leader, because Apple leads the TWS market. However, there are still many opportunities for polymer encapsulated lithium batteries. After all, there are still manufacturers with weak voice who can't get good button batteries, so they can only choose to use polymer encapsulated lithium batteries. Once TWS batteries in some developing countries start to grow, the amount added up is also very considerable.

It is worth mentioning that at present, there is no national standard for lithium batteries for wireless headphones, and the quality of TWS batteries in the market is uneven without supervision, including the phenomenon that "bad money drives out good money".

He Longping, battery expert of Guangdong Quality Inspection InstituteSaid that in 2019, with the continued popularity of the Bluetooth headset market, small polymer batteries ushered in rapid growth. Button lithium batteries and soft packed polymer lithium batteries are widely used in headphones and charging bins. At present, the market supervision bureau is also very concerned about the development of this market.

"Guangdong Academy of quality inspection and quarantine, together with Shenzhen audio industry association, has led the formulation of the lithium battery standard for wireless headphones. At present, the standard is being prepared for approval and will become the first standard in the field of lithium batteries for wireless headphones in China." He Longping said.

In the later stage, Guangdong Quality Inspection Institute will actively undertake the relevant tasks of the provincial market supervision and Administration Bureau, strengthen the sampling inspection of small polymer battery enterprises, constantly improve the quality level of the industry and crack down on fake and inferior products.

Article source:High tech lithium power grid