According to the latest estimates from International Data Corporation (IDC), the global distribution of virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) headsets in 2022 fell 20.9% from the previous year to reach 8 .8 million units. A result due to the limited number of players on the market, a difficult economic environment, and still and still extremely timid adoption by the general public.
Top 5 of the AR/VR market
Another challenge faced by the market in 2022, a difficult comparison with the year 2021, marked by the arrival of the Meta Quest 2 headset and strong consumer spending linked to the confinements which redirected spending priorities. The 2022 Top 5 of the global VR/AR market is dominated by Meta (Quest headsets) which holds an 80% market share, followed by ByteDance (Pico), then DPRV, HTC and finally iQIYI. We should also point out the company Nreal, in sixth place but first when considering only the AR market with nearly 100,000 units sold in 2022.
Mixed reality attracts attention and… that's it
“Another sector that is beginning to attract attention is mixed reality, devices that can switch between augmented reality and virtual reality,” explains Ramon T. Llamas of IDC. However, given the still low penetration of AR and VR in the market, it will surely take several device cycles before mixed reality headsets show significant sales”.
As a reminder, Apple should release its first mixed reality headset at the end of the year.
