2024 Global VR & AR Shipment Analysis: Meta Dominates VR Amidst Overall

Overall Market Dynamics

The global XR (Extended Reality) headset market experienced a complex landscape in 2024, marked by declines and strategic shifts across different segments.

VR Headset Market Performance

The VR headset market saw a 12% decrease in shipments in 2024, with the decline narrowing to 5% in Q4, indicating some market stabilization. Meta's dominance strengthened with a 77% market share for the year, climbing to 84% in Q4, driven by the launch of its affordable Quest 3S model. Sony's PSVR2 defied the trend with a 9% shipment increase in Q4, possibly due to synergies with the PlayStation ecosystem or supply chain improvements. In contrast, Apple Vision Pro's shipments plummeted by 43% sequentially in Q4, reflecting weak high-end consumer demand due to high pricing and insufficient app ecosystems. However, Apple shifted focus to the enterprise market, seeing a rebound in sales through expansion into new markets like South Korea, UAE, and Taiwan.

AR Smart Glasses Market Split

The AR smart glasses market showed divergence based on technology routes. Birdbath方案, known for lower costs and mature technology, grew by 27% year - on - year, dominating the consumer - grade AR glasses segment. In contrast, waveguide - based AR glasses, used primarily for information - display purposes, saw shipments plunge by 67%, likely due to mass - production challenges and high costs. The overall AR market declined by 8% in 2024, but Counterpoint projects a recovery in 2025 and over 30% growth in 2026, contingent on technological advancements (like lighter designs and better displays) and enterprise - oriented applications (industrial and medical fields).

Future Growth Drivers

VR Market

• Enterprise Demand: More resilient than consumer demand, with applications in employee training simulations and medical procedures like surgery simulation.

• Consumer - Grade VR: Growth is sluggish, but immersive scenarios (location - based entertainment, education, healthcare, military) will be key drivers.

AR Market

• Technology Breakthroughs: Both in hardware (lighter designs) and software (more intuitive interfaces).

• Diverse Applications: From consumer - focused entertainment to enterprise - level remote collaboration tools.

Vendor Strategy Insights

• Meta: Solidified its consumer market position with low - priced models but needs to enhance content ecosystems.

• Sony: Leveraged its gaming ecosystem to tie VR closely with console gaming.

• Apple: Pivoted to enterprise markets to leverage Vision Pro's productivity features and explored verticals like healthcare.

• AR Vendors: Those using Birdbath方案 targeted the consumer market with affordability, while waveguide - based vendors need industry collaboration to overcome production hurdles.

Risks and Challenges

• Technical Bottlenecks: VR's motion sickness issues and AR's display and battery life limitations.

• Content Ecosystems: Lack of high - quality applications hampers consumer adoption.

• Economic Environment: Global economic uncertainty affects purchasing decisions for both businesses and individuals.

Conclusion

The 2024 XR market saw adjustments, with VR's consumer segment underperforming and AR's technological split. However, enterprise demand showed resilience. Future growth will depend on technological progress, cost reduction, and the implementation of niche applications. Vendors must balance consumer and enterprise markets to capitalize on emerging, though varied, growth opportunities.