IDC Sees Global AR/VR Headset Market Reaching 65.9 Million Units by 2022
Global shipments of augmented reality and virtual reality headsets declined 30.5 percent in Q1 to 1.2 million units, said IDC Tuesday. It blamed much of the decline on the “unbundling” of “screenless” VR headsets during the quarter. For much of…
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2017, vendors bundled those headsets free with the purchase of a high-end smartphone, “but that practice largely came to an end by the start of 2018,” said IDC. Despite the poor start to 2018, IDC “anticipates the overall market will return to growth over the remainder of the year as more vendors target the commercial AR and VR markets and low-cost standalone VR headsets such as the Oculus Go make their way into stores.” It forecasts the overall AR and VR headset market to grow to 8.9 million units in 2018, up 6 percent from 2017 and that shipments will reach 65.9 million units by 2022. VR devices such as the Oculus Go “seem promising not because Facebook has solved all the issues surrounding VR, but rather because they are helping to set customer expectations for VR headsets in the future," said IDC. “Looking ahead, consumers can expect easier-to-use devices at lower price points. Combine that with a growing lineup of content from game makers, Hollywood studios, and even vocational training institutions, and we see a brighter future for the adoption of virtual reality."