Future Of Virtual Reality Market

The below image explains the potential of VR applications by category.

#1) Virtual Reality(VR) and Augmented Reality(AR) will multiply 21-fold from
2019 – 2022
According to research by the International Data Corporation (IDC) research, VR
and AR market will reach 15.5 billion euros by 2022. AR and VR spending would
reach $18.8 billion in 2020, an increase of 78.5% over the $10.5 billion,
achieving a five-year annual growth rate (CAGR) of 77.0% to 2023.
The below image displays a forecast of AR VR headset shipments in 2019–
2023:
AR and VR will be at the center of digital transformation and the spending of
different companies and consumers will increase by an additional 80%,
according to this report. Virtual and augmented reality hardware will comprise
more than half of the projected spending.
The personal and consumer services will lead to this growth at $1.6 billion,
followed by retail, and discrete manufacturing. AR is expected to overtake the
VR market spending as early as this year or by the next year.

#2) Play Games In VR/AR on your Phones

According to a report by Valuates, the VR and AR market is expected to grow
at a CAGR of 63.3 percent between 2018 and 2025. It will reach $571 billion
CAGR by 2025. This growth will mostly result from the continued use of smart
devices, an increase in Internet connectivity, and growth in mobile gaming.
North America continues to have the largest share of the VR and AR market
but the Asia-Pacific market will expand the largest, with China, India, Japan,
and South Korea experiencing the highest demand for head-mounted gaming
device displays in the virtual reality market.

Nevertheless, the industry will continue to struggle due to the lack of effective
user experience design and slow adoption in underdeveloped economies.

#3) VR and AR are coming to your regular smartphones and tablets.

According to a report , the AR and VR market will see a 48.8% growth CAGR
during the projected period 2020 – 2025. It will reach 161.1 billion in revenue
by 2025.
The market will grow due to increasing acceptance of AR and VR, and
responsiveness about the technology. The industry will see the amalgamation
of AR and VR to produce a mixed reality that will be implemented for
prospective applications.

In addition to technological development, the primary drivers for this growth

will be the rapid growth in the adoption of tablets, computers, and
smartphones, and the excessive concentration of major tech players in AR and
VR worldwide.

Currently, the hardware market leads the software market in terms of

revenue. However, the software market will witness a faster growth due to an
increase in demand in the media and entertainment industry to meet needs
such as AR-based simulating of games.

The healthcare and retail domain of the economy will lead to the adoption
growth of AR and VR.

Between AR applications and VR applications, AR-based consumer application

has the largest share according to this report, more than the commercial,
aerospace and defense, enterprise, healthcare, and others. The largest
demand for virtual reality applications is coming from commercial
applications.

North America region was accounted for the majority of the share in the AR
and VR industry last year, which is true so far. However, the Asia-Pacific
market witnessed the fastest growth during the forecast period. The growth in
the Asia-Pacific market would be led by increased investment in the defense
and commercial domains in the region.

According to this report, the market would expand as a result of the increase
in industrialists and technological enhancements.

The report says that the main players in the AR and VR market are Alphabet
Inc., Oculus VR, LLC, Microsoft Corporation, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., Intel
Corporation, Himax Technologies Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., PTC Inc.,
and Sony Corporation.

#4) Make more money with virtual and augmented reality content
The below image depicts that VR and AR industry will grow with CAGR of
18.5% during 2018 – 2025.

According to this AlltheResearch study, the growth of content in this market

will result from an increase in demand for AR and VR devices, as well as an
increase in the number of AR VR headset manufacturers such as Google, HTC,
Oculus, and others.
Users continue to download the VR and AR content on their smartphones –
especially AR capable mobile devices – from Google store, Oculus store, and
others.

The growth in demand for 360 degrees videos will continue providing
opportunities for content creators to provide this kind of content.
The training sector, especially in employers for training and promotional
purposes, is expected to dominate the growth of VR and AR market in the
coming years. According to this report, companies such as Walmart, Boeing,
UPS, and others are using AR VR for training purposes and this is or has been
generating demand for the content.

This is even, as companies such as Boeing and Agco, continue to see benefits
of using AR for purposes of training such as a reduction in operational time.
Boeing has seen a decrease of 25% in its operational time as a result of using
augmented reality headsets.

The report divides content type as games, 360-degrees videos; by application

such as 3D modeling, training, monitoring, and others; and by end-users such
as automotive, consumer industry, aerospace, defense, healthcare, logistics,
and retail industry.

#5) There will be high demand for AR/VR chipsets

This report says that the growth of the AR/VR chip market will represent a
CAGR of 23 percent growth from 2019 to 2026.
It profiles many AR/VR chip manufacturers including Qualcomm Technologies
Inc., NVIDIA Corporation, Imagination Technologies Limited, MEDIATEK Inc.,
Intel Corporation, Spectra 7, Advanced Microdevices Inc, International
Business Machine Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, and Huawei
Technologies Co. Ltd.

The increase in usage of the chips will result from the competitive consumer
electronics market as players continue upgrading the quality of smartphones,
laptops and digital recorders, and others. An increase in penetration of mobile
devices and gaming consoles, and an expanding gamer’s community will fuel
this growth during the focus period as due to the advancement in technology.

For instance, the number of video gamers will expand by 90%.

VR AR experts by Region:
VR AR experts by Designation:

#6) Attend Live Events in VR/AR

According to this study by Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research, the
consumer applications including video games, live events, and video
entertainment will in the coming 9 years, lead to $18.9 billion with video
games sector, leading at $11.6 billion; while enterprise categories led by
healthcare at $5.1 billion, engineering, real estate, retail, military, and
education will attract $16.1 billion in market value.
Future Virtual Reality Trends
The below image depicts some VR/AR use cases:
[image source]
#1) Learning, Training, and Treatments in VR/AR
The below image depicts the VR/AR users graph in the USA.
Currently, usage of mixed reality is increasing in healthcare, education,
shopping, and tourism industries in the recent past, even during coronavirus
pandemic. For instance, in healthcare, it is being trialed or implemented in
virtual-home-based therapy and surgery. In this case, it is being used
alongside other technologies such as video, sensors, and monitors.

Virtual reality could be adopted largely in treating patients with phobias and
anxiety disorders. It is used in therapy for people with autism to help them
develop social and communication skills. Eye-tracking technologies based on
AR and VR are employed in the diagnoses of patients with visual or cognitive
impairments.

In education and training, remote VR and AR training systems are being

increasingly employed during COVID-19 outbreak even as lockdowns or partial
economic inactivity continues. The same is happening in the field of tourism.

The merger of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality will
enhance the customization of VR and AR content as the customers would like.
That said, about 30 million people will use VR in the USA in the year 2021,
according to a survey by eMarketer.
#2) Experience VR/AR on Your Mobile Phone and Headset
on-the-go
AR VR headset sales forecast by IDC:

The size challenge for AR and VR – especially VR, is huge because powerful
processing hardware that is usually large is needed for generating graphics
that are contained within the headset.

Recommended Reading =>> Best Augmented Reality Glasses

We have seen the tendency for tethered experiences where high-end VR
experiences have mostly been capable when the headsets are being tethered
on personal computers where the computer is the main processing device.
However, this presents a huge mobility problem because the cable can’t go
that long.

We are now seeing non-tethered high-end virtual reality headsets, for

instance on HTC Vive, Oculus Quest, Valve, and others. We also have Apple’s
forthcoming 8K combined VR/AR glasses which will not be a tethered headset.
#3) Experience VR/AR Without Downloading Apps And on
the Web
The below image shows a consumer use-case roadmap to 5G:

The impact of 5G on mobile apps will be big and so will be its impact on AR
and VR, especially AR. By default, AR and VR, especially VR, require high data
transfer even on cloud, processing, and formation of virtual images. This will
improve with the introduction of 5G support on more mobile and Internet
devices.

Additionally, 5G is set to boost experience level even in low bandwidth and

low-powered environments. Hence, 5G will allow people to enjoy many better-
augmented experiences on cheaper headsets and devices.

In addition to 5G, WebVR is already increasing the adoption of virtual reality.

For one, WebVR makes it possible to watch VR and AR content without having
to download native apps on the user’s mobile phones or computer devices.
This is because it allows users to experience VR and AR on Google Chrome,
Mozilla Firefox, and other web browsers.

#5) Cheaper VR/AR Headset And Devices

High-end VR and AR experiences are less affordable on average these days,
mainly because of the high price of VR headsets, which cost the tune of $400
at the minimum, although it is still possible to afford the cheap cardboard
devices – which give very low-quality experiences, at the tunes of $20.

The mid-range headsets such as the Samsung VR headset, which provide mid-
range quality of experiences, cost slightly more or less than $150. At the
organizational level, virtual reality technologies such as the simulation training
and health systems and developer kits are highly-priced even for many mid-
sized organizations to afford.

However, virtual and augmented reality technologies, like mobile phone

technologies, will also become more affordable with time with continued
investment in them. This is already beginning to happen, especially for AR,
even as more companies keep manufacturing, sponsoring, or branding
headsets and related devices and content.

Benefits Of Virtual Reality

#1) More enjoyable than traditional video
Here is a video on the Benefits of VR:

The immersive nature of VR and AR makes the content enjoyable. The fact
that the user is viewing something they like is one thing and immersing them
into it is another. With life-size images and interactivity, customers enjoy
doing what they like with the power of the feeling of presence in what they
are viewing.

#2) Another dimension of interactivity

The below image shows an example – the Tesla suit is a full-body VR suit
with haptic feedback, motion capture,
and a biometric system.

Virtual and augmented reality engages the user in real-time, to participate in

what they are exploring, for instance through VR controllers and with eyes in
the gaze control mode.
As such, users can control avatars and characters in the immersive video the
way they want. This is another dimension of immersion and has opened many
opportunities for VR gamers, learners, trainers, remote maintenance teams,
and VR users in marketing and other fields.

#3) Self-guided tours and explorations

The fact that VR users can view 360-degree and VR and AR content from their
point of view which can be different from the story-teller is a huge shift from
the ordinary video content.

The story-teller won’t have to twist the story the way they want and influence
the viewers because the latter can look for more and detailed evidence (than
in an ordinary video story) for what is being narrated, in the same content.

#4) Virtual and without risking your life

Organizations can recreate, test, and simulate real-world activities whether
for military, healthcare provisioning, and education-based training or other
purposes without having to risk their staff and employees by exposing them to
dangerous scenarios.
#5) Saves on cost
This is self-explanatory. When students and their trainers engage in VR-based
virtual training, which is beneficial due to its immersive and engaging nature,
instead of going to the field, organizations save on travel and other expenses.

Challenges For VR Industry

#1) Affordability
The high price is discouraging regular and ordinary usage.

#2) No or very little demand from the customer side

For companies venturing into and adopting virtual reality, there is virtually no
competition in the market. This discourages the development of VR and AR
systems and its acceleration in adoption. Mostly, the technology is adopted by
tech enthusiasts and early adopters. This is improving even as adoption move
beyond gaming and entertainment.

There is also lacking viable business models. Companies are lacking viable
cost-effective business models and strong industry standards and vision to
drive the industry are lacking.

#3) Technology is unproven

Not just content-wise, but there is a low application of technology in real life
with only a handful of total users globally. There is also a handful of VR
content platforms and not as much of VR content is available.

That said, many people don’t care about VR because they do not use it on a
day-to-day basis. Many people have no idea of VR and what it is capable of,
and VR is not reaching the target audience money-wise. There are only a few
demonstrations and examples of use-cases.

#4) Customers lacking options

Low adoption means there are not many headsets or VR systems out there,
and this then limits customer options, especially in the high-end device
categories.

#5) Health concerns

Virtual reality is not proven to have serious long term health effects but the
studies containing proof for any benefits are few. The technology also requires
improving for customers to stop experiencing temporary side-effects such as
blurred vision, nausea, headache, and queasiness.

Conclusion
This virtual reality tutorial discusses the future of virtual reality technology.
Most studies show the potential of the technology that will be observed soon
– in the range of 5 to 10 years – given advances in technologies such as
smartphones and Internet technologies and as devices and technologies
become more affordable and less costly.

We saw that the benefits of VR have proved its potential in the future,
although there are challenges to be overcome for VR to reach its full
potential.