Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are two of the biggest trends in the technology industry right now. Up to now, many of the uses of these emerging technologies have been in the gaming industry, with VR headsets becoming increasingly popular in recent years.
But AR and VR technology is not just limited to gaming, and as work-from-home becomes a permanent reality for more companies, these technologies will likely expand from consumer to enterprise markets. Here’s what else you should know about virtual and augmented reality.
Key AR/VR statistics:
- The global VR market is expected to grow from $4.5 billion in 2020 to $22.4 billion in 2025, according to AR research firm ARtillery Intelligence.
- Consumer spending is expected to account for about 60 percent of the market in 2025, while enterprise spending is expected to make up 40 percent, according to ARtillery.
- The global head-worn AR market is expected to reach $17.7 billion in 2025, up from $1.6 billion in 2020, according to ARtillery.
- Meta Platform’s Quest 2 VR headset sold 8.7 million units in 2021, according to a report from International Data Corporation, commanding about 78 percent of all headset sales.
- The mobile AR market is expected to reach $36.3 billion globally in 2026, up from $12.5 billion in 2021, according to ARtillery.
AR/VR: A rapidly expanding marketplace
AR and VR are two of the fastest growing areas of technology. Global giants such as Facebook parent company Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Sony are heavily investing in these technologies to fuel their growth for years to come. The global VR market is expected to grow at an annual rate of almost 38 percent from 2020 through 2025, according to ARtillery Intelligence, while the global head-worn AR market is expected to expand by 11 times over the same period.
The growth is expected to be driven by new uses of the technology beyond gaming, such as healthcare, engineering, defense and entertainment. Meta plans to spend billions to build the metaverse, which will rely on VR and AR technology.
Advances in AR/VR technology
- Meta Quest 2: The Meta Quest 2 headset has been popular with the gaming community, selling 8.7 million units in 2021. The product comes with a VR headset and two touch controllers that help to simulate reality.
- PlayStation VR2: The PlayStation VR2 is a competitor to the Quest 2 headset and pairs with the PS5 gaming system. The headset tracks your eyes, making for a life-like gaming experience.
- Smart glasses: Several companies have entered or re-entered the smart glasses market, including Alphabet and Meta. The glasses vary from model to model, but they can allow you to take pictures and video, as well as answer phone calls. Meta even partnered with Ray-Ban to appeal to more style-conscious consumers.
- Apple: Apple has long been rumored to be coming out with an AR/VR headset, but until that comes, the tech giant’s many fans can use their iPhones and iPads to access one of the thousands of AR apps on the app store. You can see how furniture looks in your actual living room before buying it or play around with different filters on Snapchat.
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How to invest in AR/VR companies
If you’re interested in investing in this growing technology, you have a couple of different options to consider. You can identify individual companies that you think will benefit …….
Source: https://www.bankrate.com/investing/investing-in-ar-vr-augmented-reality-virtual-reality/