If this was ever a secret, then it’s a really bad kept one, because it was basically obvious to anyone with a brain and at least one eye that the VR market was stagnant. Sure, some of the best VR headsets were fun to use. But for how many people?
XR, and VR specifically, never really got its huge boom. How do I know? Well, because from all the people I know, less than a dozen have ever tried on a headset and less than three actually own one. And even I’m not in the last group of people, honestly.
And you know, in order to get something to become super-popular, it needs to be in people’s hands. And this is where stagnation is a huge adversary, because when people get accustomed to something’s existence and comfortable with the idea that it isn’t really changing a lot, then you’ve got trouble.
The Quest 2 did a lot for the industry, so let's hope that the upcoming Quest 3 can double its achievements.
The IDC — International Data Corporation, a company that has made data analytics its business — has concluded that sales of VR headsets have fallen by a whopping 44.6% (year over year) in the second quarter of 2023.
The IDC also predicts that only 8.5 million headsets will be sold in 2023. That’s about the same as in 2017! And when we start comparing 2017 to 2023, we can probably start to talk about stagnation.
Has the XR market not challenged people’s concept of virtual and augmented reality for a whole six years? Well, not really, but apparently it’s the way that people have felt. After all, the average Joe can’t really name you the major difference between the Quest and the Quest 2. And if that is the case, then why should he bother knowing about the headsets?
But the picture is starting to look different for 2024, where the IDC is expecting a 46.8% increase. Why? Well, because the Quest 3 will have been available for purchase for a couple of months and because the Vision Pro will actually get released.
And those devices? Well, they serve very different purposes and should feel very different to what has come before them. In what ways? Well, we can talk about that when they've been out and about for a bit.
And, if we’re lucky, we can actually get our long-awaited XR boom, which will help us exceed the IDC’s prediction of 30.3 million VR units sold by 2027.
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Stan, also known as Stako, is a smartphone enthusiast who loves exploring the limits of Android customization. His journey with mobile tech began with the Nokia 5110 and evolved with devices like the BlackBerry 9350 Curve and Samsung Galaxy A4. Despite his love for Android, he holds equal respect for Apple, considering the iPhone 4s as a significant milestone in mobile tech. Stan started his writing career early, contributing to MetalWorld, and harbors a passion for creative writing. Beyond smartphones, he's interested in photography, design, composition, and gaming, often preferring solo projects to hone his objective thinking. He's also an avid student of open-source technology and consoles, with a special fondness for the Pebble Watch, Arduboy, and Playdate.
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