The Extended Reality (XR) headset market is set to experience a substantial surge in shipments, with Apple's Vision Pro driving a projected increase of 3.9 million units in 2024, marking nearly a 50% growth compared to the previous year. According to the latest Counterpoint Global XR (VR/AR) Forecast, the impending release of Apple's Vision Pro, hitting the US market on February 2 (with pre-orders starting on January 19), is anticipated to spark considerable interest among users and industry players, benefiting existing players in the field.
Senior analyst Harmeet Singh Walia highlighted, "We anticipate sales of approximately 500,000 units of Vision Pro, Apple's $3,500 mixed reality (MR) headset, in 2024. This constitutes a modest share of the global XR market for that year."
The initial version of the Vision Pro headset is expected to attract devoted Apple enthusiasts, developers, early tech adopters, and enterprise users. However, Walia also pointed out the potential for a more optimistic scenario, provided Apple successfully ramps up component supplies for the headset and experiences heightened demand from the market.
The report indicates a significant upswing of 54% year-on-year growth in Augmented Reality (AR) in 2024, breaking a three-year streak of consecutive declines. Despite this positive growth, AR's contribution to overall XR shipments will remain relatively small, hovering around 2%.
Senior analyst Karn Chauhan noted, "North America has already been a substantial contributor to XR shipments, particularly with a majority of best-selling Meta headsets being shipped in the region. This trend is set to amplify in 2024 as Apple's Vision Pro will initially be exclusively available for sale in the US."
Furthermore, the report mentioned Samsung's anticipated re-entry into the segment with a likely MR headset in 2024. However, despite potential traction upon launch, its contribution to global shipment growth is expected to be lower than Apple's, mainly due to a launch later in the year.
(With Agency Inputs)
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