9 out of 10 VR Goggles Carry Meta Seal of Approval
The second most popular brand is ByteDance’s Pico, which holds 4.5% of the market. Meanwhile, DPVR, HTC and iQIYI do not even reach a 4% share.
The virtual reality glasses market got off to a good start in 2022, increasing shipments around the world by 241.6% in the first quarter.
The supply issues of 2021 have helped underpin that growth, although demand also remains high.
Meta is the absolute dominator with 90% of the market. The second most popular brand is ByteDance’s Pico, which holds a 4.5% share and is expanding outside China. Meanwhile, DPVR, HTC and iQIYI together do not even reach 4%.
If everything goes according to IDC’s forecasts, which is providing these figures, shipments will improve by 26.6% over the full year to nearly 14 million units.
The launch of new generations of devices in 2023 should change the picture. New contributions are expected next year from Meta, Pico and Sony, but also from Apple.
“All eyes will be on Apple when it launches its first glasses next year,” notes Ramon Llamas, research director at IDC, who predicts that this first generation will appeal “mainly to a small audience of early adopters and Apple fans. Future iterations are likely to show an evolution that will grow by leaps and bounds.
This means that Meta’s absolute dominance in the virtual reality market will be challenged in the coming years.
In addition to Meta, other companies such as Sony “already have a solid installed base,” Llamas adds, “and pent-up demand that they can leverage.”
