Summary

Virtual reality (VR) has been around, in one form or another, since the mid-1950s. At several points over the last sixty-plus years, it has been touted as the next big thing in consumer technology, without ever fulfilling its potential. Facebook's $2bn acquisition of Oculus in 2014 prompted another wave of interest, with adherents, eager to forget VR's chequered past, dubbing the new generation of devices that followed in the wake of this deal VR 1.0.

Devices from Oculus, Sony, Samsung, Google, and HTC (among others) gained a foothold in the market, but VR 1.0 remained a niche concern, popular primarily with affluent early adopters and hampered, like previous iterations of VR, by technical drawbacks and unrealistic expectations. Consequently, the industry finds itself in transition once again, moving between VR 1.0 and a second generation which holds the potential for more mainstream adoption.

Aided by custom silicon, untethered headsets, robust business models, new content, and enterprise applications, the nascent VR 2.0 already appears more dynamic and results-oriented than the previous generation. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services, motion tracking, eye tracking, 3D audio, and haptics should enable second-generation VR devices to deliver truly immersive experiences. GlobalData expects the VR market, worth nearly $7bn in 2018, to become a $28bn industry by 2030, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% over that period.

Key Highlights

- Analysis of VR tends to focus on the consumer market, but enterprise adoption is also accelerating, with notable activity in areas like retail, tourism, and healthcare. VR companies are developing domain-specific tools for functions such as training, education, and data visualization.
- At the same time, consumer-focused VR companies continue their search for the semi-mythical killer app that would make VR a mainstream hit. The market remains heavily gaming-oriented but is gaining traction in areas such as live streaming and social media. Over the next few years, players in this sector will face a battle for supremacy against related technologies, especially augmented reality (AR).

Scope

- This report provides an overview of the global virtual reality market.
- It identifies the key trends impacting growth of the theme over the next 12 to 24 months.
- It includes a comprehensive industry analysis, outlining the main growth areas and potential use cases.
- It identifies the leading players in the VR market, across all segments of the value chain.

Reasons to buy

- VR is entering its second generation, which is expected to have greater appeal to consumers as well as enterprises compared to the previous generation.
- VR technology has evolved significantly over the past five years, with improvements on both the hardware and software side. However, issues like latency, nausea, high prices, and underdeveloped ecosystems have been obstacles to widespread adoption. In this report, we look at how VR theme is shaping up and how we think it will develop over the next decade.