Facebook Leads Booming VR Market, IDC Says

The VR Tech Giant Earned Two-Thirds of the VR Headset Market, Reports Reveal

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oculus quest 2 revenues xr today
Virtual RealityInsights

Published: July 5, 2021

Demond Cureton

Global shipments for virtual reality (VR) headsets have jumped 52.4 percent year on year in the first fiscal quarter this year, data from an International Data Corporation (IDC) report revealed.

The majority of sales consisted of VR standalone headsets such as the HTC VIVE Focus and Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2, reaching 82.7 percent of sales in Q1, up from 50.5 percent the same period last year.

Fitness and gaming have boosted VR sales globally, leading the the Menlo Park-based company to capture the market, the report added.

Jitesh Ubrani, Research Manager for Mobile and Consumer Device Trackers at IDC, said:

“[Facebook’s] Oculus has singlehandedly driven growth in the market as the company managed to capture almost two thirds share of global VR headset shipments during the quarter. While the company currently dominates the consumer segment it faces competition in the commercial segment and its lack of presence in China leaves an opportunity for local brands as well as brands that can cater to businesses”

Chinese VR firms such as DPVR, Pico gained 108.6 percent and 44.7 percent year-on-year, or ranked second and third on the report, respectively, with Sony and HTC reaching the top five firms.

According to the IDC, VR firms were expected to ship 28.9 percent more headsets this year.

Tom Mainelli, Group Vice-President at Device and Consumer Research for the IDC, said:

“As companies continue to plan for a future that encompasses a combination of both in-person and remote work, we see VR playing an increasingly important role in driving next-generation collaboration, training, and digital events”

The report added global shipments would climb to roughly 28.6 million by 2025.

Stats on the VR Headset Market

The developments comes after additional research predicted the global VR market would reach 20.9 billion by 2025, with enterprise-level headsets driving much of the growth.

Research cited by XR Today also found that roughly one-fifth of Facebook’s workforce, or nearly 10,000 workers, is dedicated to Reality Labs, the firm’s virtual and augmented reality development wing.

XR Today spoke with Chris Guerin, CEO at Xpllore, in January on his forecasts for the VR market, where he stated Oculus would dominate the entry-level market and Varjo in high-end tethered headsets, but brands such as HTC VIVE could potentiallly carve significant sales in the mid-range bracket.

 

 

 

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