New research from Omdia indicates that although the XR market which includes AR, VR, and MR, is currently experiencing a slump, leading brands are making concerted efforts to boost sales.
The sluggish performance in the XR market has led to significant layoffs at top companies, and several smartphone brands have either halted or scaled back their XR ventures. Despite these challenges, industry leaders remain committed to revitalizing the market and driving growth in the coming years.
On the hardware front, Meta and PICO are set to launch the Quest 3S and PICO 4S in 2H24, both at lower prices than their predecessors to boost sales.
On the software side, Sony’s PlayStation VR2 (PS VR2) will now support PC VR games expanding beyond its previous PS5 exclusivity, which is expected to drive up PS VR2 sales. Additionally, Meta Platforms has announced the initial release of its XR operating systems to third-party OEMs, including ASUS, Lenovo, and Microsoft Xbox. Meta will also focus on enhancing the quality and quantity of its platform and application software, to improve hardware terminal sales.
While near-eye display shipments are projected to stay flat in 2024, the long-term forecast remains positive.
In 2024, the XR market is primarily focused on the Apple Vision Pro. However, its high price is expected to limit its sales, preventing it from significantly boosting overall market growth. Omdia predicts that total XR sets shipments in 2024 will remain steady compared to 2023 with near-eye display shipments also flat at 17.2 million units. Nevertheless, the Vision Pro has significantly increased the share of OLED on silicon (OLEDoS) displays.
Commenting on the market’s fluctuations, Omdia Senior Research Analyst Kimi Lin stated, “We anticipate the XR industry will remain stagnant for the next one to two years. While set shipments will see slight fluctuations, near-eye display shipments are expected to increase more significantly due to the inevitable shift from single to dual displays.
