After 2017 Weakness, AR and VR Headsets Forecast to Return to Growth, Says IDC
Following market weakness last year, worldwide shipments for augmented reality and virtual reality headsets are slated to grow at a 53 percent five-year compound annual growth rate to 68.9 million by 2022, said a Monday International Data Corp. report. Growth…
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will return this year, with AR/VR shipments forecast to reach 12.4 million units, up 49 percent from 2017, it said. Declines last year were due to a drop in screenless VR viewer shipments as companies stopped bundling the headsets with smartphones, and consumers showed little interest in buying them separately, said IDC. Lenovo’s successful Q4 launch of Star Wars: Jedi Challenges (Lenovo Mirage AR headset) showed the form factor could still “have legs,” said the research firm, “if paired with the right content.” Analyst Jitesh Ubrani cited a “maturation of content and delivery” as top content providers enter the AR and VR space. On the hardware side, vendors are experimenting with financing options and revenue models to make headsets, along with accompanying hardware and software, more accessible to consumers and businesses, he said. VR should lead a rebound in VR headset sales as Facebook’s Oculus Go, HTC’s Vive Pro and Lenovo’s Mirage Solo with Daydream ship with new capabilities and price points, said the research firm. AR will remain largely targeted to the commercial side due to high cost and complexity, it said. Virtual reality head-mounted displays will transition from screenless viewers to stand-alone and tethered devices, which are forecast to comprise 86 percent of category shipments by 2022. Consumers will account for most headset shipments throughout the forecast period, but commercial usage will slowly increase, it said.