Shipments of VR and AR devices are set to rise as the International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts a rise to 59.2 million units in 2021, up from 9.6 million in 2017 with the commercial sector a big driver.
The market is also set to move away from low-cost VR screenless viewers, such as Samsung Gear VR, with more investment in tethered and standalone solutions according to the market intelligence provider’s Worldwide Quarterly Augmented and Virtual Reality Headset Tracker.
VR screenless viewers are predicted to account for 14.8% of the entire market in 2021, down from 58.8% in 2017. In contrast, by 2021 standalone headsets like the Oculus Go or Hololens will account for almost half of the AR/VR headset market.
Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for IDC's Mobile Device Trackers, said: "The VR market, young as it is, is in the midst of a crucial transition as buyers are gravitating towards tethered headset and PC or game console bundles that offer advanced tracking and higher fidelity rather than settling for low-cost headset and smartphone bundles.
"This bodes well for the entire VR ecosystem as the improved experience of a dedicated device draws a more dedicated audience."
Commercial shipments for the headsets are predicted to rise from 1 million in 2017 to 12.6 million by the end of 2021. In the augmented reality space the commercial impact will be even larger with shipments tipped to grow to 15.6 million in the same time period.
Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers, said: "We have long believed that AR headsets will play a fundamental role in changing the way many companies do business in the near future and we are increasingly seeing the commercial use cases for VR unfold.
"AR will introduce technology to a large portion of the work force that was never able to benefit from technological advances because of the need to use their hands to complete their job functionality. AR will change all that. And within VR, the commercial use cases that are emerging the fastest are within education, design/content creation, and retail, and we have strong reason to believe this is just the tip of the iceberg."