Wired Over‑Ear Headphones See Strong Market Revival in 2026

In the context where TWS wireless headphones have become mainstream, corded over-ear headphones have experienced逆势 growth. The global corded headphone market is expected to increase by over 20% year-on-year in 2026, with the Asia-Pacific market showing the fastest growth rate, with a compound growth rate of approximately 9%.
Driving factors:

• Zero latency, lossless sound quality: Audio enthusiasts, recording monitors, live streaming, and e-sports groups value uncompressed audio output, no Bluetooth delay, no need for charging, stable signal, and the reliability of the product in working scenarios is much higher than that of wireless headphones.
• Interface evolution: The 3.5mm + Type-C DAC dual interface has become the mainstream, suitable for phones and laptops with removed round holes； the detachable cable design significantly improves product durability, and the demand for replaceable cables in export orders has significantly increased.
• Shift in consumption concepts of the Z Generation: Young users overseas are tired of frequent charging and prefer "plug and play" wired devices； in emerging markets (Southeast Asia, Russia, Africa), the shipment volume of high-value-per-unit wired over-ear headphones has significantly increased, and there is a strong demand for batch purchases in educational, computer rooms, aviation audio, and public audio scenarios.
• Differentiation in specific scenarios: It is divided into four main categories: Hi-Fi enthusiast models, recording monitoring models, live streaming and e-sports microphone models, and low-cost public disposable over-ear headphones. The proportion of B-end batch purchases has continued to increase.