Skip to main content

Virtual Reality Platforms Gain Many New Use Cases

After an initial market launch that lacked available media, virtual reality (VR) platforms are now ready to thrive from the introduction of compelling new content. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, total VR device shipments will reach 110 million units by 2021.

While mobile device-reliant VR shipments -- such as Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream -- dwarf other VR device types, standalone devices will experience a 405 percent CAGR through 2021, compared to a 42 percent CAGR for mobile VR.

Market Development for Virtual Reality Apps

New and emerging device vendors -- such as Royole and Pico -- already entered the global arena, with many other Chinese manufacturers poised to expand their presence in this nascent market. Besides, independent software developers are poised to create new apps.

"Mobile VR built a solid foundation for the overall market over the past few years, but standalone VR devices will eventually drive it," said Eric Abbruzzese, senior analyst at ABI Research.

Low cost and high accessibility will likely drive VR adoption with mobile devices and associated VR accessories. However, a trend toward standalone devices is gaining momentum, and will continue over the next five years until mobile and standalone VR devices reach shipment parity.

With an influx of standalone VR devices, a greater range of use cases will be explored, broadening the gaming-focused VR market of today. Furthermore, ABI Research anticipates a total market size of $64 billion by 2021.

Non-gaming software and content, VR advertising, and VR-related video revenue will together hold a significant portion of the market. VR applications in retail and marketing will therefore see a 124 percent CAGR through 2021.

Video, education, and tourism are expected to all see significant growth, and while not forecast to be as large as the VR gaming market, it will be a notable addition to this evolving marketplace.

Outlook for New VR Use Cases

According to the ABI assessment, the three primary VR device types -- mobile, standalone, and tethered -- are entering the market with unique value propositions, target audiences, and use case support.

However, ABI analysts believe that there is the less understood market of mixed reality (MR) on the horizon. MR incorporates elements of augmented reality to VR devices, as evident in Intel’s Alloy reference design.

Associated machine vision technology like RealSense or Google Tango opens a compelling AR/VR hybrid opportunity on the mobile platform. Taking the best of both AR and VR will open up the enterprise market, and enable entirely new use cases and associated applications.

Popular posts from this blog

Digital Talent Demand Exceeds Supply in Asia-Pac

Even the savviest CEO's desire for a digital transformation advantage has to face the global market reality -- there simply isn't enough skilled and experienced talent available to meet demand. According to the latest market study by IDC, around 60-80 percent of Asia-Pacific (AP) organizations find it "difficult" or "extremely difficult" to fill many IT roles -- including cybersecurity, software development, and data insight professionals. Major consequences of the skills shortage are increased workload on remaining digital business and IT employees, increased security risks, and loss of "hard-to-replace" critical transformation knowledge. Digital Business Talent Market Development Although big tech companies' layoffs are making headlines, they are not representative of the overall global marketplace. Ongoing difficulty to fill key practitioner vacancies is still among the top issues faced by leaders across industries. "Skills are difficul

Mobile Device Market Still Awaiting Recovery

The mobile devices market has experienced three years of unpredictable demand. The global pandemic, geopolitical pressures, supply chain issues, and macroeconomic headwinds have hindered the sector's consistent growth potential. This extremely challenging environment has dramatically affected both demand and supply chains. It has led to subsequent inflationary pressures, leading to a worsening global cost of living crisis suppressing growth and confidence in the sector. In tandem, mobile device industry stakeholders have become more cautious triggering market uncertainties. Mobile Device Market Development Operating under such a backdrop, the development of mobile device ecosystems and vendor landscapes have been impacted severely. Many of these market pressures persisted throughout 2022 and now into 2023, borne chiefly by the smartphone market. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, worldwide smartphone shipments in 2022 declined 9.6 percent Year-over-Year

Open Banking Usage to Grow by 470 Percent

The Open Banking business model has been advantageous for Third-Party Providers (TPPs), helping them to extend their offerings into other areas of financial services with new capabilities. Open Banking is also advantageous for traditional banking institutions, despite the perceived loss of custodianship over their data, by providing greater accessibility to more bank services. Furthermore, Open Banking can help serve Mobile Internet providers that are able to leverage it to create tailored services according to customers’ preferences and/or economic limitations. Open Banking Market Development Since traditional banking services are made more convenient by TPPs via greater data access, customers can proactively manage their finances and shape the development of new financial offerings. This is particularly noticeable in the realm of Digital Payments, where retail merchants and customers transact through eCommerce, which has the greatest number of use cases for Open Banking. These includ