Newly launched premium devices from Oculus, HTC and Sony will account for 77 per cent of the value of the global virtual reality headset market in 2016 – which should reach US$895 million – according to market research firm Strategy Analytics,
Despite this, the three brands will account for only 13 per cent of volumes, with lower-priced smartphone-based devices set to dominate share of the 12.8 million unit virtual-reality headset market, the research firm says.
“The analyst firm sees 2016 as a pivotal year for virtual reality given a confluence of factors, and also one where managing expectations will be paramount given a dearth of available content and the technical limitations of entry-level virtual reality,” Strategy states.
Strategy predicts that state-of-the-art virtual reality headsets tethered to PCs and game consoles will barely exceed 1.7 million devices shipped globally this year due to prohibitively high pricing, But it says awareness is poised to “build rapidly” amid new product releases.
Strategy analysts believe that smartphone-based virtual reality can act as an introduction to the technology, with the potential to upsell users to higher-quality virtual reality experiences at a future point.
“While we expect smartphone-based viewers to take the lion’s share of VR headset volumes in 2016 at 87 per cent of shipments, PC and game console-powered headsets will absolutely dominate value share, commanding 77 per cent of revenues,” said a Strategy spokesman. – Channel News
