Digital Lifescapes

The past decade has witnessed an explosion in Artificial Intelligence (AI) use cases. From facial recognition software to virtual assistants, AI is rapidly reshaping our digital world. However, most of this AI processing power has resided in the public cloud, requiring a broadband internet connection and raising concerns about personal data privacy. This deployment model is about to evolve. The future of AI is the ability to function directly on our devices, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. On-Device AI Market Development The research predicts a significant growth in AI chipset shipments, reaching over 1.3 billion units by 2030.  This surge signifies a critical shift towards on-device AI, empowering smartphones, PCs, tablets, and other gadgets with the ability to process AI tasks locally. This transition is driven by two key factors. Firstly, smartphone and PC vendors are prioritizing the development of chipsets specifically designed for on-device AI,...

Virtual Reality (VR) market growth is now finally coming to fruition. Thanks to current actions and market momentum, VR is approaching what can be considered critical mass. And, not a moment too soon. This growth momentum comes from new hardware and content releases, accelerating enterprise value recognition, and a significant metaverse wild card that could potentially lift adoption and usage. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, over 85 million VR Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) will be shipped in 2027 across consumer and enterprise segments, creating a $100 billion VR market that includes hardware, software, and services. Virtual Reality Market Development "Expectations have been high in VR for years, and even decades, without notable growth to show. That growth is finally coming over the next five years," said Eric Abbruzzese, research director at ABI Research . The barrier to entry is lower than ever, all while content performance and user experien...

After years of slow growth and limited use cases, the Virtual Reality (VR) market is now forecast to grow significantly over the next five years. Consumer interest in VR games and media continues to grow after the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated activity. At the same time, the need for employee enablement and immersive content within the enterprise environment remains strong. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, over 90 million Head Mounted Display (HMD) shipments in 2027 will drive total VR market revenues to reach over $95 billion across hardware, software, and services. Virtual Reality Market Development "The virtual reality market is no stranger to false starts, with identifiable efforts in VR dating back to the 1980s and 1990s. While the technology never found purchase results, the increased capability of VR hardware combined with the demand for immersive content in numerous markets, presents a significant opportunity," says Eric Abbruzzese, research direc...

Let's get real, and update this market outlook. What's the overall size of the Augmented and Mixed Reality market, for both devices and the value chain? We have the answer. With investment and interest growing exponentially, the augmented reality market is set to grow at a significant rate over the next five years. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, nearly 40 million Augmented Reality (AR) smart glasses will ship in 2027, with the total augmented and mixed reality market surpassing $220 billion in the same year. According to the ABI assessment, much of this growth will stem from the consumer AR market on the back of new hardware and content, but the enterprise AR space will also continue to show strong growth. Augmented Reality Market Development "It is impossible to miss news surrounding the augmented reality market today, both from the fascinating metaverse side and the more grounded and short-term augmented reality opportunities and investme...

Among the key assets of a mobile telecommunications service provider are its network infrastructure and its billing relationship with their customers. While its role as a retailer of content has declined, Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) offers a new revenue stream. Even though it will not provide a wholescale solution to the underlying profitable revenue challenges of mobile network operators, it may eventually equal or exceed MNO content revenue pre-storefront. According to the latest market study by Juniper Research, DCB could benefit players across the value chain -- including content developers, content publishers, aggregators, and consumers. This includes increasing the incremental revenue opportunities for the providers of both digital and physical goods. Mobile Content Payment Market Development Juniper Research has found that total spend over direct carrier billing will reach $100 billion for the first time by 2025 -- that's rising from $37 billion in 2020. They anti...

Worldwide shipments of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets grew to 2.3 million units in 1Q17, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). With more products scheduled to ship in the second half of 2017, IDC is forecasting triple-digit growth for the full year. VR represented more than 98 percent of headsets shipped during the first quarter. Within VR, about two-thirds of all headset shipments were screen-less viewers -- such as Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream View. Tethered VR headsets, such as the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Sony PSVR, accounted for one third of the market. AR and VR Market Development "The VR market is still very young and consumers seem to be taking a cautious approach," said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst at IDC . "With plenty of headset options already in the market and even more coming soon, hardware isn't the issue." According to the IDC assessment, the bigger chall...

Digital entertainment will continue to evolve in 2017. In the mobile space, online video gaming has changed, with a move away from longer form Role Playing Games (RPG), to shorter games which allow greater interaction with other players. That said, casual games maintain their dominance in this industry. However, there's a significant rise in popularity of titles such as 'Clash Royale' which are competitive, short-form games that also integrate the idea of clans or teams of players. Aided by the adoption of popular franchises onto mobile devices, 2016 has seen strong growth in the number of games accessed on smartphones. Both new, optimized titles -- in terms of engagement and revenue generation -- and reworked classics have proved to be a hit with consumers. Video Game Market Development A new study from Juniper Research has found that revenues from the global digital games market are set to reach the $100 billion milestone by the end of this year. That's an ama...

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, se...

Spending on video game hardware grew 47 percent to $983 million during the first quarter of 2014, but overall total industry consumer spending on video gaming fell 1 percent to $4.6 billion compared to the same period in 2013, according to the latest market study by NPD Group. The dramatic increase in hardware sales can be attributed to the new Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and these strong year-over-year trends are likely to continue through most of 2014, according to Liam Callahan, industry analyst at NPD Group . Overall video game content revenue was down 8 percent, due to a decline in new physical format spending of 27 percent or $372 million. In contrast to the physical declines, digital format spending collectively increased by 4 percent, driven by full game downloads and DLC for consoles and portables. For the first quarter of 2014, content spending increased for used games, digital full games, DLC, and mobile with a modest increase in subscription revenue. Callahan said,...

There's a key segment of the global online population that has an insatiable appetite for digital media -- they influence others: whether it be text, audio, video or gaming consumption. They are the recognized digital content taste-makers at the center of their social circle. They're often the first to adopt new digital gadgets. Digital Omnivores -- those people who own media tablets, smartphones and notebook PCs -- continue to grow, driven by increased device adoption. According to the latest market study by Deloitte, 37 percent of U.S. consumers are now considered to fit the profile -- that's a 42 percent growth over the previous year. This growth is primarily driven by continued tablet adoption (33 percent increase) and, to a lesser extent, smartphone ownership (18 percent increase). Moreover, women, who made up 35 percent of digital omnivores two years ago, now account for 45 percent of this group. The Deloitte market study compares and contrasts generational pre...

Demand for casual user online video games has grown significantly over the last few years, particularly on mobile devices -- such as smartphones and media tablets. Regardless, personal computer gaming is still in vogue with its loyal traditional fan-base. A recent digital gaming software and services forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC) concludes that PC and Mac gamer spending and direct banner/video advertising outlays -- across all digital channels -- will grow to over $24 billion worldwide by 2017. The forecast also found that global digital PC/Mac game revenue will rise about 4 percent per year between 2012 and 2017. North American digital PC/Mac gaming revenue, however, is forecast to slip at the margins over the forecast period. This market share slide is mainly the result of the cannibalization of casual-leaning, browser-centric games -- typified by Zynga's Farmville 2 -- by smartphones and tablets. The market share shift is also compounded by a stead...

The gaming industry has changed dramatically over the past decade. A new study of the mobile games market has highlighted the pivotal role of media tablets in the future growth prospects of this fast moving and evolving industry. The rapid adoption of tablets, combined with the growing acceptance of in-game purchasing and virtual currencies, will result in an estimated $3.03 billion of sales by 2016 -- reaching over ten times the $301 million figure calculated for 2012. According to the latest assessment by Juniper Research, which studied the impact of mobile games on the wider video games industry, found that there had been a clear migration of users from dedicated portable gaming devices across to tablets, and to some extent, smartphones. The freemium model, which is being embraced by many tablet users, cannot be implemented as easily on portable gaming devices, because games must be purchased upfront and the devices themselves often do not allow for a 3G or 4G cellular network...

While the North American market for mobile network subscription is considered saturated, there's still significant handset upgrade activity. comScore released data that reported the key trends in the U.S. mobile phone marketplace during the three month average period ending November 2012. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 26.9 percent market share. Google Android continued to lead among smartphone platforms, accounting for 53.7 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Apple iOS secured 35 percent of the market. For the three-month average period ending in November, device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 26.9 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 1.2 percentage points). Apple ranked second with 18.5 percent market share (up 1.4 percentage points), followed by LG with 17.5 percent share, Motorola with 10.4 percent and HTC with 5.9 percent. 123.3 million people in th...

As the CES 2013 event in Las Vegas approaches, let's consider the overall market impact from technology innovations and new product launches. Meaning, that for every positive advancement in a new product category there is often a negative result in another category. As an example, prior product enhancements made to smartphones -- and now media tablets -- continue to take market share away from other portable consumer electronic (CE) devices. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, annual shipments of handheld game players are expected to decline by at least 4 percent year-over-year (YoY) -- with the North American market experiencing a fall of nearly 13 percent. In the digital camera market, shipments are expected to decline by over 11 percent YoY worldwide and nearly 20 percent in the North American market. New devices like Sony’s 3G Vita and Samsung’s Galaxy Camera are trying to bridge the divide between portable CE devices and cellular-enabled mobile device...

What does the future hold for the Technology, Media and Telecommunications ( TMT ) investment banking sectors in 2013? One thing is certain, this year will include several significant events that we can forecast and yet others that will be somewhat unpredictable. We can expect to see both progress and setbacks as these evolutionary market shifts and changes unfold in the weeks and months to come. This is the first of several forward-looking updates about those market transitions. ABI Research says that we should watch for Augmented Reality (AR) to continue its progress through evolved smartphone platforms -- not only via new purpose-built eyewear. Prior announcements about consumer eyewear gadgets -- including Google Project Glass and Vuzix Smart Glasses M100 -- has led some market observers to speculate that 2013 might be the year when AR finally becomes more than a mere gimmick. That level of development would equate to a long and arduous journey of exploration. AR will lik...

The media tablet and digital camera markets are forecast to be the next high growth driver for location based services (LBS) and global positioning system (GPS) integrated circuits (ICs) -- despite the relatively slow growth to date. The latest market study by ABI Research resulted in an updated forecast for the evolving application of LBS and how it will affect the adoption of location-related technologies. So far, the tablet market has been somewhat led by Apple and its GPS/Modem strategy. GPS shipments are forecast to reach 37 million in 2012, yet that is still much less than had been previously anticipated. There has been mixed progress of late, with the launch of the Google Nexus 7 and the Apple iPad mini. Wi-Fi location technology is a standard feature across all media tablets. But while it is complementary, it does sometimes act as a barrier to GPS integration. "When we look at the adoption of applications on tablets, it is forecast to largely mirror that of smartph...

Mainstream Wi-Fi adoption and usage has changed over the last few years on mobile devices. In fact, almost every new smartphone will offer some form of Wi-Fi capabilities -- with the encouragement and approval of the mobile network service providers. However, a new Wi-Fi protocol will begin to dominate mobile devices soon. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, the IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi protocol will begin to conquer the existing protocols (802.11b, g, and n) in the next two to three years. "The Wi-Fi 802.11ac protocol offers several advantages over the current and most commonly used 802.11n protocol," said Josh Flood, senior analyst at ABI Research . The wireless connection speed will be quicker -- the new protocol also offers better range and improved reliability, and superior power consumption. It's also capable of multiple 2X2 streams and should be particularly good for gaming experiences and HD video streaming on mobile devices. A similar scenari...

Perhaps there will become a time where online video usage growth reaches a plateau -- but we're apparently not there yet. comScore released data showing that more than 180 million U.S. Internet users watched 33 billion online content videos in June. Video advertising reached another all-time high in June -- as 11 billion video ads were viewed. Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in June with 154.5 million unique viewers, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 51.5 million, Facebook.com with 49 million, VEVO with 46.2 million and Viacom Digital with 38.9 million. Vimeo moved into the top 10 ranking for the first time at #10 with 21.4 million viewers. Nearly 33 billion video content views occurred during the month, with Google Sites generating the highest number at 18.3 billion, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 717.8 million. Google Sites had the highest average engagement among the top ten properties. Online vi...

The video game industry is currently going through the next phase of its apparent ongoing evolution. That is, even since smartphones and media tablets became part of the market equation. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, over 38 million handheld gaming devices from Sony and Nintendo are expected to ship in 2013 -- that's significantly lower than the previous peak of 47 million units in 2008. Unit shipments following 2013 are expected to decline slightly, but dedicated handheld gaming devices are a sustainable niche, with forecasts relatively flat through 2017. Smartphone and media tablet use for gaming continues to expand, making the mobile gaming market an increasingly important companion to dedicated handheld gaming. "Mobile devices will compete with dedicated handheld gaming devices, but select consumer segments like core gamers and those individuals who do not want or have a smartphone or media tablet will still provide some demand," said ...

Infonetics Research released excerpts from its latest market study of broadband service provider Residential Gateways. These are the broadband network access devices that are provided by the operator and installed in the service subscriber's home. Their insightful report delves into the service provider strategies for deploying and pricing residential gateways, the applications driving their deployments -- and their top picks for residential gateway vendors, services, technologies, and associated features. "With residential gateway revenue dropping because of price declines and a saturated broadband subscriber base, operators are looking to new services to increase revenue per subscriber," said Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access and video at Infonetics Research . Based upon recent interviews with network operators around the world, it is clear that they see their broadband access lines (be they DSL, cable, or FTTH) as a conduit for new revenue-gener...