XR 360 Archives - Page 2 of 3

More Than 1 Million XR Headsets Shipped in China in 2022, Pico Number 1

XR shipments crossed 1.1 million units in China in 2022.
VR remains the dominant segment, contributing more than 95% to overall shipments in 2022.
Pico is the number one brand with a shipment share of 43%, followed by DPVR at 36%.
iQIYI, HTC and NOLO, each captured a single-digit share.

London, San Diego, New Delhi, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Seoul, Hong Kong – March 15, 2023

Extended Reality [XR: Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets] shipments crossed 1.1 million units in China in 2022 according to Counterpoint Research’s XR Model Tracker. VR remains the dominant segment within XR, contributing more than 95% to overall shipments in 2022. The Chinese market has considerable untapped potential but is growing slowly because available headsets do not offer enough value in the consumer domain for mass consumption.

While the consumer segment did not see a major shift, volume growth was produced by enterprise deals, mostly in the education and training sectors. The potential for further volume growth is limited in the enterprise segment which remains niche as the currently available headsets are not yet advanced enough to offer enticing use cases. So, brands have started to focus more on the consumer segment, particularly gaming. However, Chinese brands are offering few and mostly simple VR games. Brands must develop high-quality games to increase consumer traction.

Pico is the number one brand in China’s XR market with a shipment share of 43% in 2022, followed by DPVR at 36%. iQIYI, HTC and NOLO, each of which captured a single-digit share, also made it to the top five.

Pico, since its acquisition by TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, has gained greater global as well as local prominence. The additional financial, human and soft resources that ByteDance is pouring into Pico helped it to become a major player. Since the acquisition, Pico’s strategy has been to establish itself as a major player in the consumer XR segment. For this, it has priced its recent Pico 4 headset at close to $400, similar to Meta’s Quest 2.

DPVR shipped the next highest number of XR headsets in China and is the biggest player in the enterprise segment. Existing partnerships and growing regional prominence will ensure a healthy growth rate for DPVR, but it has a limited opportunity for volume growth in the enterprise segment. It is therefore betting big on its E4 gaming headset.

iQIYI, with a focus on VR content and streaming, took the third spot on the list while HTC’s volumes continued to be driven by Vive Flow. However, HTC is facing difficulty to sell its headsets owing to their high price points. NOLO also made it to the top five list thanks to its consumer-grade headsets targeted at gamers.

China’s market has a large base of home-grown content producers who benefit from a largely common language. We expect these players to increasingly invest in content for VR leading to a virtuous circle of increasingly capable hardware supported by content from multiple producers. The adoption of XR in sectors ranging from education and healthcare to industrial and supply chains will also enable more holistic growth represented by both the consumer and enterprise segments.

China is also expected to benefit from the early adoption of 5G since telecom operators see VR content as a driver of data consumption.

Background:

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Karn Chauhan

Follow Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com

Crucial Technologies Unveiled to Expand XR Universe

At CES 2023, which was held in early January, interest in XR was hot, and the number of innovation awards related to virtual/augmented reality surged to 25 in two years. Several startups and manufacturers also showcased new XR-related technologies along with their products at the show.

Here, we will focus on two of the XR-related technologies showcased at CES 2023 – a transparent display with XR and hands-free controllers. These technologies are the foundation for XR to expand into various areas such as health and education.

1. Transparent display with XR technology

Transparent display categories include HUD (head-up display), HMD (head-mounted display), transparent OLED, and more. HUD is often used as a display for vehicles. However, until now, commercialized HUD for vehicles has taken up only a part of the front glass. But at CES 2023, several automakers introduced AR HUD with more advanced forms and expanded areas.

Most prominently, BMW unveiled ‘BMW i Vision Dee’ and announced its plan to commercialize by 2025 advanced HUDs that use the entire front glass. Also, BMW will expand its personalization experience by allowing the driver’s avatar to be displayed in the side window. This advanced HUD is combined with the MR slider to set a range of information displayed on the HUD. The range varies from driving-related information to virtual/augmented reality information.

BMW i Vision Dee

Source: BMW

However, in the future, if the transparent OLED introduced by LG Display at CES 2023 is commercialized, it could replace HUD that transmits images to the windshield. LG Display introduced a concept car equipped with a 55-inch transparent OLED at CES 2023. The transparent OLED serves as a window, provides content such as advertisements and news, and provides information on places outside the window in real-time through AR technology. This means that AR technology can expand opportunities to provide various experiences to all occupants, not just driver assistance features.

LG Concept Car With Transparent OLED

Source: LG Display

2. Hands-free tracker

Among the CES’ innovation awards in the virtual/augmented reality category, controllers were included to highlight how they allow users to have various experiences hands-free.

Contact Glove of Japanese company Diver-X is a haptic VR controller in the form of gloves. The glove is a tactile controller compatible with all SteamVR games, allowing VR gamers to enjoy an in-depth gaming experience. In addition, the device can capture the user’s hand movements and manipulate buttons and sticks with only finger movements.

Contact Glove by Diver-X

Source: Kickstarter

Another innovation award-winning Surplex, a body tracker in the form of shoes, was announced by the Chinese company Shenzhen Qianhai Xiangfang Future Technology. The device, with its 480 embedded pressure sensors, has the advantage of not being space constrained. Also, it is compatible with all SteamVR-compatible headsets such as the Oculus Quest 2. Such hands-free controllers are expected to be of great help in expanding the use cases in the industrial segment as well as the experience of general consumers in virtual/augmented reality.

Surplex Full-body Tracking Shoes

Source: CES

In 2021, the total XR market size was about 11 million units and Meta was the main player with about 75% market share. According to the latest Counterpoint Global XR(VR/AR) Forecast, the XR market is expected to grow to about 63 million units by 2027. However, Meta is expected to lose its market share as new players such as Apple will enter the market. Therefore, competition in the XR market is expected to intensify, and manufacturers will constantly diversify the use of XR devices to defend market share. Accordingly, it is anticipated that new technologies related to XR will continue to pour in.

Technology Trends Driving Future XR Market Growth

In 2021, XR shipments crossed the 10-million mark for the first time, showing 60% growth compared to the previous year. Although the growth has slowed down this year due to the lack of a new mass-level device, it is expected to accelerate next year and take the annual shipments to about 48 million in 2025. Recently, Meta unveiled its new product, the Quest Pro. Unlike the previous device, which only allows hand tracking, the Quest Pro features eye and face tracking. Through Quest Pro, Meta is trying to consolidate its leadership position in the consumer sector and expand its market share in the enterprise sector.

However, the competition is expected to intensify with the expected release of Sony’s PlayStation VR 2 and Apple’s first XR headset next year. As major OEMs enter the market in earnest, attention is being paid to what specifications they will release. This blog looks into some of the key technologies that will form the XR market’s focus going forward.

1. Wider FOV for immersion enlargement

Field of view (FOV) is the range of viewing. It is one of the most important features of XR devices. In theory, the wider the FOV, the better. But the screen size is limited. So, if the FOV is increased without taking into account the screen size, the screen will look crumpled.

Ideal displays for XR devices should have a FOV larger than 160° to cover the FOV of the human visual system. In addition, monocular focus cues are needed to recognize the interaction between virtual content and real-world environments, just as the human eye recognizes objects with central and peripheral vision.

However, the average FOV is about 89° for existing XR devices, 47° for AR, and 112° for XR. This is because the FOV was reduced to provide a clearer image at a limited resolution.

Source: Radiant Vision Systems

2. ToF technology for gesture tracking

AR devices will need to come with a variety and combination of control options to be truly hands-free. These will range from gesture control and eye tracking to voice control.

Gesture control can be done through the application of multiple 3D sensing modules to detect hand movements and nearby objects via spatial detection. Among the 3D sensing modules, ToF (time of flight) technology is expected to be mainly used. The ToF technology consists of iToF (indirect time-of-flight) and dToF (direct time-of-flight). iToF is advantageous for short-range measurements and has excellent security, so it is used for smartphone facial recognition. On the other hand, dToF-based solutions support a wider measurement distance than iToF. Therefore, both solutions are expected to be adopted for XR devices.

Source: SK Hynix

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI is essential for understanding the surrounding environment and human beings to provide an optimized experience for each user. When AI and AR are combined, it becomes possible to receive optimized information for each user. Furthermore, if AI technology for detecting and recognizing a user’s emotions is applied to an XR device, facial and gesture recognition limitations can be supplemented. In other words, it collects objective emotional information such as a person’s face, voice, body movement, and bio-signals with sensors, and obtains abstract emotional information based on AI to automatically recognize people and provide a real-time personalized environment even if they do not express their emotions under a given environmental condition. This will facilitate communication with users in a virtual space and enrich the XR usage environment by being used in various ways, such as evaluating and improving products and services, and identifying and responding to safety-related conditions.

Just as rapid technology innovation led to smartphone market growth in its early stages, XR devices are expected to show similar trends. Therefore, technological development is also an important factor in market growth. Even as major smartphone OEMs such as Apple and Samsung apply for related patents, OEMs that have the upper hand in technology competition are expected to survive in the market.

AjnaLens: India-based XR Startup Upskilling Workforce Training with VR & Metaverse

The India-based startup, AjnaLens, is one of the Indian players in the XR (Extended Reality) space joining the Metaverse revolution. Founded in 2014, the co-founders have IIT and engineering backgrounds. Designing and manufacturing in India, AjnaLens offers AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), and Mixed Reality solutions with applications across different sectors from skill training to enterprise and even the Indian defense sector.

We recently got to spend some time at the AjnaLens office in Mumbai to talk with the co-founders, understand the product offerings, and experience the solutions in action.

The company’s mission & services

The key mission of AjnaLens is to focus on upskilling the workforce and bridging the digital divide. The company has joined hands with Tata Technologies to upgrade 150 ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) in Karnataka, India; to upskill over 9000 students using a VR-based simulator.

AjnaLens also leverages technologies such as artificial intelligence and mixed reality to upgrade defense weapon systems and tanks to help increase the effectiveness of combat missions. The mixed reality glasses can be mounted on soldiers’ helmets, enabling them to efficiently carry out surveillance and security.

Credit – AjnaLens

Though the defense was just a byproduct, it is now most of their business. This military-grade Mixed Reality helmet also includes features like GPS for navigation, night vision, LIDAR, Sonar, and thermal scanners.

There are three core product applications:
• AR-glasses for enterprise
• Mixed Reality glasses for the military
• XR Station for VR training purposes

AjnaLens also has its own app marketplace where it can customize apps based on specific client needs. The marketplace also allows third-party app developers to submit and publish their apps. Using Android OS as a base, AjnaLens has filed for over 15 national & international patents in augmented reality, and its algorithms are its secret sauce for powering and integrating the entire system.

The upskilling challenge for industries

One of the biggest challenges facing industries is training the workforce with new skills and capabilities. The post-COVID-19 hybrid and remote working is making training even more challenging. But with VR and metaverse, these challenges can be more easily overcome.

In VR training, like that offered by AjnaLens, workers are instantly teleported to the job site (or workshop). It is one of the most effective ways to develop new skills and train the workforce. Scientific research has proven that VR training is more completely and readily absorbed by the brain than traditional classroom-type training.

VR training can offer several benefits, but the two important aspects are that it offers realistic simulations and the ability to teach even hard skills. And what better example than a flight simulator where challenging emergency scenarios can be recreated for pilot training?

WATCH: AjnaLens VR Training – Teleporting Trainees to Job Site

AjnaLens VR for training institutes: Immersive & interactive way of learning

The AjnaLens team offered us a demo of its VR solution for training institutes, and we were left impressed.
The VR headset, AjnaLite 2, is tethered to a dedicated VR workstation called Ajna XR Station, and the software is scalable across different use cases; institutes just need to load the training modules.
Currently, it supports a variety of jobs such as welding, painting, fire, and safety training.
With this 360-degree immersive environment, students or workers can learn skills like painting for automobiles and aviation.
Upon completing the tasks, students get instant grades and they can practice for an unlimited time until they perfect the processes.
As there is no need to have actual paint and car doors to learn painting, it allows organizations to greatly reduce overall training costs.
For those who wear specs, the VR glasses have an adjustable dial to adjust the lens power.
The display is bright, and crisp and did not cause any eye-fatigue issues during our limited usage.
The VR glasses and equipment like a spray gun and the welding gun have trackers to track your movement.

We were impressed with the painting job demo, and the precision of details with the angle of spray and distance.

AjnaLens AR glasses for enterprise

AjnaLens also has tethered AR glasses and ambient-aware (see-through) type features.
These are lightweight glasses that have a 2K display, speaker, and camera.
It has a 50-degree field of view and can be used to create a virtual space from the connected device.
These glasses are powered by tethering to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC or above-powered smartphone, or a laptop or tablet using a Type-C cable.
There is no processing on the glasses, it only has MCUs for the camera, tracking, sensors, and audio.
This virtual space can have holograms and avatars, digital twins, web browsers, CAD designs, and Office apps.
Users can also take virtual team calls over platforms like Microsoft Teams or Zoom.
We did give it a try and it was quite comfortable to wear.
The display was bright enough, and color reproduction was good too.

Overall, we were left impressed with the demos we saw at AjnaLens’ office, and with this hybrid work culture and remote assistance use cases, there is room to grow and expand beyond India. AjnaLens is one of the companies in the XR space to watch out for.

Metaverse Reignites XR Interest in Chinese Markets

London, San Diego, New Delhi, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Seoul, Hong Kong – April 15, 2022

XR technologies experienced their first boom in China in 2016. However, this boom fizzled out in the following two years due to the immaturity of subsequent technologies and failure to fulfill public expectations. Five years later, with the rise of the Metaverse and Meta’s (formerly Facebook) commercial success of its consumer-level VR headset Oculus, China’s XR market has received its second wind with mobile giants like Huawei, Xiaomi, and OPPO entering the fray with their own releases of smart/AR products. Counterpoint Research has released a new report on the ‘Overview of China’s XR Market‘ which analyses the advancements in XR/AI technologies and the introduction of blockchain as cornerstones of a full-fledged Metaverse. It also measures whether a certain level of maturity has been achieved to reach mass-adoption levels in China’s XR market.

Current landscape

Currently, four major forces steer China’s XR industry, ranging from XR-focused start-ups to mobile giants. Three out of the top five smartphone manufacturers in China launched their own smart/AR glasses in the second half of 2021. Consequently, the smart/AR glasses category has become the most competitive in the Chinese XR industry with its relatively low entry barriers and potential to become the next leading device in smart wearables. Lagging in core AR/VR technologies, Chinese manufacturers are trying out other means of development, namely functionalities utilizing their own technological advancements, to pursue value-added and popular features like voice control, virtual assistant, and gesture control. Chinese manufacturers are also diversifying their product lines, shifting from B2C to B2B markets by providing products for industrial and service sectors. Rokid X-Craft and Rokid Glass are typical examples of obtaining value propositions in industrial/business applications.

Overview of Leading Players in China

Company	Company Type	Market Vertical	XR Focus
Pico	VR startup acquired by ByteDance	VR	Entertainment, gaming
Nreal	XR startup (2017)	AR	Commerce, gaming, real estate
iQIYI	China’s streaming giant	Video streaming	Movie streaming, gaming
Huawei	Leading global ICT provider	Telecom, AI	Smart life
Rokid	AI startup (2014)	Robotics, AI	Industrial inspection, public security, cultural tourism
OPPO	Leading smartphone provider	Smartphone	Consumer-assisted reality

Technological landscape

According to Counterpoint’s Overview of China’s XR Market Landscape report, the market is currently moving towards a combination of Micro-LED with waveguide technology for augmented displays, setting a new standard for premium AR glasses. Xiaomi’s upcoming AR glasses have chosen such a combination. Micro-LED enables thinner display screens, lower power consumption and higher display resolutions. However, mass adoption will be less likely due to its high production costs, hence limiting its application to only premium models. Additionally, AR/smart glasses still depend on mobile phones for their computing power. However, China’s early adoption and development of 5G technology raises the prospects of AR/smart glasses becoming integrated devices independent from mobile phones.

In terms of VR headsets, leading players in China such as Pico, iQIYI, and ShadowCreator are adopting Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 SoC processors, part of the Snapdragon product line designed primarily for AR and VR devices for optimal performance, benchmarking against Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 as the standard.

Competitive landscape

Even with big players testing the waters of the Chinese XR market, the AR market remains to be cultivated to its full potential with a dominant headset yet to be seen. This, however, may change soon with Pico (acquired by ByteDance), the leader in China’s VR market, seeing success with its Neo 3 model. Multiple AR/smart glass models are expected to be launched this year (2022), including the Nreal Air, Huawei Eyewear 3, OPPO Air Glass, Rokid Vision and possibly the Xiaomi AR glasses.

OPPO Air Glass 3 With Half-frame in Silver

Source: OPPO

For more details, read our report ‘Overview of China’s XR Market Landscape’. Feel free to contact us at press@counterpointresearch.com for questions regarding our latest research and insights, and for press enquiries.

Analyst Contacts:

Counterpoint Research

Related Reports:

XR (VR/AR) Headset Shipments to Grow 10 Times to Cross 100 Million Units by 2025

London, San Diego, New Delhi, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Seoul, Hong Kong – January 5, 2022

Extended Reality (XR) headset shipments are projected to grow about 10 times from 11 million units in 2021 to 105 million in 2025, according to the latest Counterpoint Global XR (VR/AR) Forecast. The adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) headsets gained pace in 2020 and 2021, thanks primarily to the good performance of the Oculus Quest 2 in the consumer segment and DPVR and Pico in the enterprise segment. We believe XR headset volumes will start picking up significantly in 2022, as it will be the biggest year for new XR product launches, with offerings from the Oculus Quest series, Sony PlayStation VR2 and the most awaited Apple AR glasses. Oculus and Sony have created a strong demand for their devices and built a good user base for upgrades, while Apple has a strong history of gaining volumes in a new category.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Senior Analyst Karn Chauhan said, “VR Standalone has become the device type of choice in the gaming segment primarily due to the success of Oculus’s Quest 2. The wireless form factor is the future for XR headsets. VR Standalone devices are being favored over VR Tethered devices by OEMs and consumers, making the latter a relatively slow-growing form factor. Augmented Reality (AR) has been a small segment since 2016, mainly serving the enterprise segment with high-spec and high-price products. This is unlikely to change in the immediate future. However, with Apple expected to enter the AR Tethered segment, we expect it to become the fastest growing and the second biggest form factor by 2025. This will catalyze the participation of many other brands, especially smartphone OEMs.”

Commenting on the regional performance, Senior Analyst Harmeet Singh Walia said, “North America will remain the biggest XR market, given the size and advancement of its consumer and enterprise users. This demand will be fulfilled by the biggest XR brands of the day such as Oculus and highly anticipated new entrants like Apple. On the other hand, Europe, despite being a major XR market at the moment given the size of its middle class, is expected to see relatively slow growth due to content limitations that are exacerbated by a lack of common language. The fastest growth, therefore, is expected in China, which will benefit from having adopted 5G early and having a common language that makes content creation easy. Some of its demand will be fulfilled by existing OEMs like DPVR and Pico and by major Chinese smartphone OEMs that will follow Apple into the XR segment within the first half of this decade.”

Metaverse, recently the most hyped term on the internet, made industry players interested in it and pushed them to start developing something around it. Metaverse can be a catalyst for the increase in XR volumes in the coming years, as XR devices are the main interface for Metaverse.

Background:

Analyst Contacts:

Peter Richardson

Karn Chauhan

Harmeet Singh Walia

Follow Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com

Oculus Quest 2 Cumulative Sales Hit Record 4.6 mn as XR Headset Shipments Almost Triple YoY in Q1 2021

London, San Diego, New Delhi, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Seoul, Hong Kong – July 14, 2021

The Extended Reality (XR) headset shipments almost tripled annually in Q1 2021, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Global XR (VR & AR) Model Tracker. The Oculus Quest 2 success drove these volumes. Offering great hardware at a reasonable price, Oculus kept improving the performance of the Quest 2 with regular software updates, while growing user engagement. Till Q1 2021, the Quest 2 had shipped a cumulative 4.6 million headsets, a record for any single model.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Senior Analyst Karn Chauhan said, “The standalone Virtual Reality (VR) form factor led the global XR market with 85% shipment share in Q1 2021, compared to 42% in Q1 2020. The transition from tethered to standalone VR is being driven mainly by the Quest series. Other XR headset OEMs are also focusing on the standalone form factor as it is the device of choice among users, especially gamers. The Augmented Reality (AR) segment contributed only 4% in Q1 2021, which was driven by the few enterprise-level deals with AR headset OEMs. The AR consumer segment is still in a nascent stage as most of the compelling use cases are being satisfied by mobile AR. There is also a lack of disruptive mass-market or even mainstream AR headsets.”

Commenting on brand performance, Senior Analyst Harmeet Singh Walia said, “Oculus captured a record 75% share of global XR shipments in Q1 2021 as compared to 34% in Q1 2020, thanks to the continued success of the Quest 2. Chinese brand DPVR climbed to the second position for the first time by keeping its focus on the enterprise and education segment. With no successor of PlayStation VR, Sony fell to the number three spot for the first time since 2016. Pico and Valve took the fourth and fifth spots respectively while HTC, with its focus increasingly limited to the niche enterprise segment, slipped to the sixth position.

Given few new launches planned for 2021 by major players, the Oculus Quest 2 will reign unchallenged. It has now established itself as the leading player in the XR segment, especially gaming, and is unlikely to be replaced in the near future despite increasing competition. The Quest 2 offers a great experience in the wireless form factor, giving it an edge over competitors. However, the competition in this segment will also increase in the coming years with Sony likely to move into it.

While there are many enterprise and industrial use cases for XR currently available and in development, growth in this segment is slower than expected in some areas. The industrial use cases that have greater potential include field force support, education, training, media and many more. We can, therefore, expect a steadily increasing, even if slow, trend towards enterprises and other organizations investing more in the development and use of XR devices and services, especially after 2025.

Players including Microsoft, Varjo and HTC have been taking a wider enterprise-level approach to target this low-volume, high-ASP segment. A lighter, power-efficient and longer battery life version of Microsoft’s HoloLens offered under $1,000, combined with its strong base in major economies, has the potential to make Microsoft a major player in the consumer segment as well. But we do not expect Microsoft to launch such a device in the first half of this decade.

We believe that XR will continue to experience double-digit growth for the next four years. Apple’s entry will likely catalyze the participation of several other brands, especially the Chinese smartphone OEMs that are also present in the smartwatch segment.

Background:

Analyst Contacts:

Peter Richardson

Karn Chauhan

Harmeet Singh Walia

Follow Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com

Oculus Captures Half of XR Headset Market in 2020

London, San Diego, New Delhi, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Seoul, Hong Kong – March 10, 2021

The Extended Reality (XR) headset shipments in 2020 declined 9% YoY, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Global XR Model Tracker. The decline was less than expected thanks to the Oculus Quest 2 performance during the holiday season. As a result, Oculus captured 53% of the XR market in 2020 as compared to 44% in 2019. The improved specs, like increased memory, larger battery life, and higher resolution and refresh rate, at an affordable price point were the clear drivers. The pandemic-triggered lockdowns also had a role here, pushing people to invest in content for entertainment and gaming, especially during the second half of 2020.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Research Director Peter Richardson said, “Virtual Reality (VR) headsets captured more than 90% of the total XR shipments. The adoption of VR, mainly for standalone form-factor, is increasing, as the industry is showing significant advancements in design, specifications and features at reasonable prices. Additionally, the availability of good quality content across platforms is growing. The users of VR are limited to the gaming community, but enterprise users from the education and training sector gained some interest during the pandemic.”

Commenting on brand performance, Senior Analyst Karn Chauhan said, “With a strong supply chain and brand value in the gaming segment, Oculus remained the biggest XR brand throughout 2020 by capturing half of the shipments. Sony grabbed the second spot riding on its strong PlayStation user base who went in for the five-year-old PlayStation VR. HTC, DPVR and Pico took the third, fourth and fifth spots, respectively. Enterprise-level sales deals, like for schools and training centres, helped Chinese players to grow in 2020.”

Oculus also dominated the list of top five XR devices. Three headsets in the list were from Oculus. However, the competition in this segment will increase in the coming years. One of the reasons this segment doesn’t witness new launches as frequently as some other categories is that it is more dependent on latest innovations in the overall component and supply chain, especially from the form-factor, display, power and sensor perspective. But the segment holds a big potential in the coming decade, as players like Apple and Sony (PSVR 2) will enter or scale up in this segment.

There are many current and potential enterprise and industrial use cases for XR. These include field force support, product design and development, construction and fabrication, manufacturing, logistics, education and training, media, healthcare and many more. We can, therefore, expect a steadily increasing trend towards enterprises and other organizations investing more in the development and use of XR devices and services.

Some players like Microsoft and Varjo have been taking a wider enterprise-level approach to target this segment. Microsoft now aims to enjoy wider adoption in the fast-growing consumer segment. This combined with Microsoft’s strong bases in major economies, which are the biggest enterprise-level consumers of XR devices and are likely to be the biggest consumer-segment buyers too, ensures the company’s continued growth in the XR industry.

XR’s consumer use can be subdivided into VR and AR. For VR devices, the strongest use case is gaming, although social interaction will provide an interesting niche. Consumer use of AR has thus far largely been confined to smartphone displays via applications.

We believe that XR will continue to show in double digit for the next five years.

Background:

Analyst Contacts:

Peter Richardson

Karn Chauhan

Harmeet Singh Walia

Follow Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com

Podcast: XR – Where are We in Reality?

When first introduced, eXtended reality (XR) appeared like a futuristic concept. But after years of research and development, the technology is now accessible to consumers and enterprises. Yet, XR is having a hard time transitioning from a fantasy concept to something that is more practical and generates revenue. But the recent launch of the Oculus Quest 2 does make us feel a little optimistic about the technology. It is built on Qualcomm’s XR2 platform, which offers new levels of power to the standalone virtual reality (VR) headset.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world around us. People are working from home, and students learning from home. With more time being spent at home, activities like gaming are becoming popular. While standalone gaming can be one of the key drivers for the XR platform, XR being all about offering users with an immersive experience, learning too can be fun with it. Virtual and augmented reality (AR) can help explain scientific topics like the universe in an exciting way. Further, it can even benefit the manufacturing and healthcare sectors among many other possibilities.

In the latest episode of ‘The Counterpoint Podcast’, host Peter Richardson is joined by Research Analysts Karn Chauhan and Harmeet Singhwalia to share their perspectives on eXtended reality. They discuss the current developments in the XR industry, limitations and future expectations, besides going into questions like how will XR benefit from 5G, and will the rumored Apple glasses be the inflection point that the XR industry needs for mass adoption. All this and more in the podcast below.

Top

Coverage: XR 360

Crucial Technologies Unveiled to Expand XR Universe