Sales of virtual and augmented reality headsets worldwide nearly doubled in 2021, reaching more than 11 million units, according to IDC. This success is largely driven by the Meta Quest 2 alone, and could just be the start of things to come for the market.
The global market for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets has grown 92.1% in one year, now reaching 11.2 million unit sales. Almost half of these sales occurred in the last quarter of the year.
According to IDC, the Meta Quest 2 was by far the most popular product, with a 78% market share. The DPVR and the Pico range of headsets from ByteDance (TikTok) are next in line, and are particularly popular in the Asian market.
The success of the Meta (formerly Oculus) Quest 2 is above all due to its relatively low price starting from US$299 (RM1,263) and its market position, targeting both home and business users. To date, Meta has no serious large-scale competitor. However, Sony and Apple could come up with credible alternatives in the future.
In any case, the years to come look promising for the market, with double-digit growth forecasts every year until 2026, when global sales should exceed 50 million units per year. The future of this sector will largely depend on the popularity (or not) of the metaverse. – AFP Relaxnews
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