Extended Reality (XR) headset shipments are projected to grow about 10 times from 11 million units in 2021 to 105 million in 2025, a new report has said.
Oculus and Sony have created a strong demand for their devices and built a good user base for upgrades, while Apple has a strong history of gaining volumes in a new category.
The adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) headsets gained pace in 2020 and 2021, thanks primarily to the good performance of the Oculus Quest 2 in the consumer segment and DPVR and Pico in the enterprise segment, according to Counterpoint Research.
We believe XR headset volumes will start picking up significantly in 2022, as it will be the biggest year for new XR product launches, with offerings from the Oculus Quest series, Sony PlayStation VR2, and the most awaited Apple AR glasses.
“VR Standalone has become the device type of choice in the gaming segment primarily due to the success of Oculus’s Quest 2. The wireless form factor is the future for XR headsets,” said senior analyst Karn Chauhan.
Augmented Reality (AR) has been a small segment since 2016, mainly serving the enterprise segment with high-spec and high-price products.
This is unlikely to change in the immediate future.
“However, with Apple expected to enter the AR Tethered segment, we expect it to become the fastest growing and the second biggest form factor by 2025. This will catalyse the participation of many other brands, especially smartphone OEMs,” said Chauhan.
Metaverse can be a catalyst for the increase in XR volumes in the coming years, as XR devices are the main interface for Metaverse.
“North America will remain the biggest XR market, given the size and advancement of its consumer and enterprise users,” said senior analyst Harmeet Singh Walia.
This demand will be fulfilled by the biggest XR brands of the day such as Oculus and highly anticipated new entrants like Apple.
“The fastest growth is expected in China, which will benefit from having adopted 5G early and having a common language that makes content creation easy,” he added.
