Global virtual reality (VR) headset shipments fell 12% YoY in 2024, the market’s third consecutive year of declines, according to the latest update from Counterpoint’s Global XR (AR/VR) Headset Model Tracker. In Q4 2024, the shipments fell 5% YoY. Hardware limitations, lack of compelling VR content and usage scenarios, and decreased consumer engagement continued to impact the market. However, demand from the enterprise market, though relatively limited in size, remained more resilient, particularly in large-scale immersive Location-Based Entertainment (LBE), education, healthcare and the military, says Counterpoint Research.
Meta continued to dominate the global VR headset market in 2024 with a share of 77%. In Q4 2024, Meta’s market share rose to 84% primarily due to the launch of the more affordable Quest 3S headset. Sony’s PSVR2 shipment share surged to 9% in Q4 2024, fuelled by aggressive promotions and discounts during the Black Friday and Christmas sales.
Apple’s Vision Pro shipments saw a steep 43% QoQ decline in Q4 2024, reflecting a slowdown after the initial market hype. In Q4, Apple expanded the Vision Pro’s availability to new markets, including South Korea, UAE and Taiwan, which helped partially offset the overall decline. The device’s enterprise sales also saw an uptick.
Chinese OEMs Pico and DPVR also benefited from the growing enterprise market demand in 2024. For Pico, shipments to the enterprise segment surpassed those to the consumer segment, while DPVR saw over 30% YoY shipment growth in 2024, driven by its strong focus on enterprise customers.
According to Counterpoint Research, the global VR market’s growth will remain limited over the next two years. Despite the potential of spatial computing, significant challenges persist, including a lack of compelling content beyond entertainment, eye fatigue from prolonged use, and the ongoing trade-offs between performance, headset weight, battery life and heat dissipation. Until more substantial technological advancements are achieved, the global VR market’s growth is likely to face challenges.
Global AR smart glasses market sees 8% YoY decline
The global AR smart glasses market also faced challenges in 2024, experiencing an 8% YoY decline. Birdbath-based video-watching AR smart glasses remained the dominant category, growing 27% YoY in 2024. In contrast, waveguide-based information display glasses saw a sharp 67% YoY decline, primarily due to weak INMO product sales.
However, Counterpoint Research expects the global AR smart glasses market to rebound in 2025, achieving over 30% YoY growth through 2026, driven by the potential entry of major tech giants and the accelerating momentum of the ‘AR+AI’ trend. As generative AI technologies advance, an increasing number of companies are positioning AR smart glasses as a key platform for AI integration, driving further market expansion. Besides, Google’s introduction of Android XR OS, designed to support existing Android apps and seamlessly integrate with its suite of large AI models, is expected to unlock new use cases and further propel the growth of the AR smart glasses market.
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