NEW YORK, March 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Past hopes for the massive growth of virtual reality (VR) are now coming true. With ongoing developments and market participation, virtual reality is now approaching critical mass. This momentum is driven by the release of new hardware and content, accelerated recognition of corporate value, and an important metaverse wildcard. According to global technology analytics firm ABI Research, more than 85 million virtual reality head-mounted displays (HMDs) will ship to the consumer and enterprise segments by 2027, creating a $100 billion virtual reality market that includes hardware, software and services.
Eric Abbruzzese, director of augmented and virtual reality research at ABI Research, said: “Expectations for virtual reality have been high for years, if not decades, without significant growth. This growth will eventually materialize over the next five years.” smaller than ever, while content performance and user experience have greatly improved. This growth is also possible across the entire ecosystem, not just for consumers, gaming, or businesses on a budget. Affordable VR headsets now offer full features, to the brim with high-quality and growing content ecosystems.”
While the consumer segment makes up the bulk of the entire VR market, B2B markets, namely education and manufacturing, will also see significant growth. Manufacturing will be the fastest growing enterprise VR segment over the next five years, with a compound annual growth rate of over 100%, according to the latest data from ABI Research. “This is because the appreciation of the value of virtual reality has accelerated in high-value use cases, such as education, tend to be higher than augmented reality. Other markets, such as education, are larger overall in terms of users, but are growing steadily.
Apple and Meta will shape the VR market over the next two years, at least in terms of adoption and user numbers. Although there are few confirmed details about Apple’s plans, the company expects to enter the VR market in 2023. Meta dominates the VR ecosystem with its Quest 2 headset; Quest Pro and newer devices coming soon, more in line with Quest 2 price and target market. While the company’s ambitions for software and services for the Metaverse are still materializing, its hardware ecosystem is strong. ABI Research believes that autonomous HMDs will remain dominant over the next five years, accounting for more than 85% of total shipments in 2027. Tethered devices make up a smaller percentage, but as an affordable gaming device with huge potential, the Sony PSVR2 will spark interest from the installed base. Qualcomm also has big VR ambitions, and the potential for mobile HMD viewers is growing.
“While significant growth is predicted, economic headwinds are still in place and will affect VR adoption, especially if inflation and global concerns persist through 2023. The theoretical total market size in the short term is smaller than its likely maximum, consumers and businesses are hesitant or unable to invest in high-value ecosystems. However, two factors are minimizing this impact: the inherent maturity and value of VR is higher than ever, and the immediate growth of the market overcomes these shortcomings,” concludes Abbruzzese.
These findings are taken from the ABI Research Market Data: Devices, Verticals, and Value Chains Market Data report. The report is part of the company’s augmented and virtual reality exploration services, which include research, data, and ABI Insights. Market Data Spreadsheets provide detailed data, market share analysis, and highly segmented service-specific forecasts to provide a detailed understanding of opportunities.
ABI Research is a global technology intelligence company providing actionable research and strategic advice to technology leaders, innovators and policy makers around the world. Our research focuses on transformative technologies that are fundamentally changing today’s industries, economies, and workforces.
ABI Research is a global research firm that provides practical market research and strategic advice to global technology leaders, innovators and decision makers. We pay close attention to all innovations and technologies that are changing industries, the global economy and the labor market.
For more information about ABI Research services, please contact us at +1.516.624.2500 in the Americas, +44.203.326.0140 in Europe, +65.6592.0290 in Asia Pacific or visit www.abiresearch.com .
Post time: Mar-03-2023