March 20th news: Apple once again demonstrated its influence in the AR/VR headset field. According to the latest report released by market research firm IDC, the launch of the Vision Pro headset has reignited the entire AR/VR headset market.
New research indicates that while the Apple Vision Pro remains too expensive for most users, its market appeal is incredibly strong, driving rapid growth across the entire headset market.
Apple has also accelerated the reshuffling of the headset industry and propelled the commercial use of Mixed Reality (MR) headsets. Prior to Apple's release of the Vision Pro, the headset industry only had two forms: Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). However, following the introduction of the Vision Pro, the emergence of MR has been fostered.
IDC's research director Ramon T. Llamas said, "Mixed Reality (usually referred to as MR, which allows users to seamlessly switch between augmented reality and virtual reality) has been on the fringes of the headset industry, but the release of Vision Pro has brought MR into the spotlight."
Research Manager Jitesh Ubrani stated, "Beyond Apple's efforts, many companies like Meta have also embarked on a transition journey, shifting from singular AR/VR to MR."
The IDC report states that global shipments of AR and VR headsets decreased by 23.5% compared to 2023. However, it is projected that by the end of 2024, shipments will increase by 44.2% to reach 9.8 million units.
The research firm states that the launch of several new headsets by the end of this year will contribute to this growth. IDC predicts that by 2028, VR headset shipments will increase to 24.7 million units, with AR reaching 10.9 million units.
Source: IT Home
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