Metaverse to help AR/VR headset market reach 14 mn units in 2022

NEW DELHI: The buzz around Metaverse has somewhat revived the dull augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) market and in 2022, the AR/VR device shipments is likely to reach 14.19 million units, compared to 9.86 million in 2021 which is a year-over-year increase of 36 per cent, a new report has shown.

The year 2023 is forecast to see 18.8 million AR/VR device shipments, riding on the Metaverse momentum. The growth momentum will come from increased demand for remote interactivity stemming from the pandemic, as well as Meta Oculus Quest 2's price reduction strategy.

Microsoft HoloLens 2 and Oculus Quest 2 are first in market share for AR and VR, respectively.

"The topic of the Metaverse has driven brands to actively plan for and stimulate product shipment performance. However, the AR/VR device market has yet to experience explosive growth due to two factors: component shortages and the difficulty of developing new technologies," said global market research firm Trendforce. In addition, cosmetic and size considerations have made the more optically and technically difficult Pancake design the first choice for new high-end products.

Since there are no new foreboding products on the horizon, TrendForce believes that no other branded products have a chance at supplanting the current mainstream status of Oculus or Microsoft until at least 2023. The Oculus Quest 2, which costs between $200 and $400, is currently the most popular AR/VR device in the consumer market.

The report expected Oculus to launch an advanced version of the Quest product within two years, reaching a hardware performance equivalent of $700 or down to a retail price of $500 with discounts. "This product is expected to expand the size of the high-end consumer AR/VR market. The commercial market is dominated by the HoloLens 2 which costs more than $1,000 and upwards of $3,500," said the report. Apple has become another focus in the AR/VR device market.

"Strong shipments of Oculus and Microsoft products will likely force Apple to release relevant products to join the competition this year," the report mentioned. However, considering hardware performance requirements and gross profit margins, Apple will likely target the commercial market and adopt the same pricing strategy as HoloLens. (IANS)

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