Meta remains to be the most dominant company when it comes to VR headset production. Amid the booming market, the tech giant is set to face tighter competition with Apple and other wearable-focused firms.
In Q1 2022, the year-on-year growth of the VR headset market hit 241.6%. About 13.9 million units are expected to be shipped at the end of the year.
Global VR Headset Market Boost
(Photo : XR Expo from Unsplash)
Meta remains to be the most dominant virtual reality firm at the moment amid the global VR headset growth.
In the following years, the trend in the tech industry will not only include the usual products, including smartphones and laptops. This time, people have been slowly getting into the devices focused on bringing virtual reality.
This is evident in the growing VR headset market, which has recorded over 240% growth in the first quarter of 2022.
As per a report by 9to5Mac, the International Data Corporation (IDC), a company focused on market intelligence data, said Meta remained to be the most dominant company in the VR market. However, once Apple and other firms enter the competition, this will pose a bigger challenge for the social media titan.
Although Meta proves that it can thrive in the business for a while, it does not mean that it will last forever. IDC notes that the business model of the company remains unsustainable.
As stated in the report, Meta managed to capture 90% of the VR headset. At the time, the Oculus Quest 2 continued to be more popular among customers.
The company adds that the firm will attract more customers in the next quarter because of the expansion of the products across Europe.
Per IDC Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers research manager Jitesh Ubrani, Meta has been investing a lot of money when it comes to the metaverse venture.
Related Article: Meta Will Launch Project Cambria VR Headset: When is the Release Date?
Meta is Staking its Low-Cost Hardware
The expert continues that the company is jeopardizing the promotion of its "low-cost" hardware. For Ubrani, this will collapse in the long run because Meta is sacrificing it for profitability.
To solve this problem, Meta will be required to manufacture more "sophisticated" consumer headsets. With that being said, the company needs to thoroughly assess the business sector and study the competition in it.
IDC says that Meta might use its "productivity-oriented headset" as its starting point to change things. This means that the company can produce hardware that will generate high revenues.
"The good news is that the upcoming productivity-oriented headset from Meta will serve as the starting point for the company's pivot towards higher revenue-generating hardware and will also help provide an uplift in end-user pricing for the entire industry as average selling prices creep up and the tech substantially improves," IDC adds.
Apple as VR Headset Competitor
In a similar report, IDC sees that Apple could be the top candidate that can rival Meta when it comes to VR and AR equipment. Next year, the iPhone maker will be releasing its very first VR headset.
As per Ramon Llamas, IDC's Augmented and Virtual Reality team research director, this hardware will be appealing to Apple patrons and "early adopters."
Aside from the Cupertino firm, Sony is another company that Meta should watch out for regarding the VR market. According to Tech Times, the video game company is set to release its PlayStation VR2 by the end of 2023.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
