According to the forecast of International Data Corporation (IDC), global shipments of augmented (AR) and virtual (VR) reality headsets in the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 44.6% compared to last year. This indicator has been decreasing for the fourth quarter in a row and is associated with a drop in demand due to a slowdown in the global economy and rising prices for the popular Quest 2 headset by Meta manufacturer. In addition, the reason for the decline in demand is also the obsolescence of hardware offered by different manufacturers.
It is expected that the positive dynamics in the AR/VR headset market will resume no earlier than 2024. By the end of 2023, the total volume of headset shipments is projected to be 8.5 million units, which is slightly higher than the level of 2017.
IDC notes the heterogeneous dynamics of the implementation of AR/VR headsets. Headsets that work independently and do not require connection to other devices show an average annual growth rate of 57.5%. While gadgets that require a connection to a smartphone have almost completely disappeared from the market.
Meta and Qualcomm Inc. have made a significant contribution to the development of the AR/VR headset industry over the past few years, accelerating the transition to standalone headsets. Now they face increasing competition from manufacturers such as Sony, MediaTek and Apple Inc. According to IDC Research Project Manager Jitesh Ubrani, this could lead to further growth of the AR/VR device market.
Currently, Meta remains the leader of this market, occupying a share of 50.2%. It is followed by Sony and ByteDance with shares of 27.1% and 9.6%, respectively.
IDC predicts that the recovery of the AR/VR headset market will occur only in 2024. Deliveries are expected to increase by 46.8% next year due to the release of new devices from Meta, ByteDance and Apple, as well as due to the presence of small manufacturing companies on the market.
By 2027, a significant increase in the global supply of AR/VR devices is expected to reach 30.3 million units.
Ramon Llamas, director of the IDC profile division, believes that the AR/VR market is at a turning point in its short history.
