Global shipments of virtual reality (VR) headsets fell 12% year-on-year in 2024, marking the third consecutive decline in the market. In the fourth quarter of last year, headset shipments fell 5% compared to the same period a year earlier, Counterpoint Research reported, citing its own market research.
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Hardware limitations, lack of compelling VR content and use cases, and declining consumer engagement continued to impact the market. However, enterprise demand, while relatively limited in scale, remained more robust, particularly in entertainment, education, healthcare, and the military.
In 2024, Meta✴ Platforms dominated the VR headset market with a 77% share. In Q4, the company’s share grew to 84%, mainly due to the release of the more affordable Quest 3S headset. Sony’s PSVR2 headset share increased to 9% in Q4 last year, thanks to an active advertising campaign and discount promotions.
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Meanwhile, shipments of Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset fell 43% in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter, indicating a slowdown in sales after the initial rush. Apple rolled out its headset to new markets later in the year, including South Korea, the UAE, and Taiwan, which helped offset some of the overall sales decline. However, Vision Pro shipments to enterprise customers increased slightly.
Chinese OEMs Pico and DPVR also benefited from the growth in demand for VR headsets in the enterprise segment in 2024. Pico’s enterprise headset shipments exceeded its consumer sales, while DPVR achieved a 30% year-on-year sales growth compared to 2023.
Image source: Counterpointresearch.com
Counterpoint predicts that the global VR headset market will see limited growth over the next two years. Despite the potential of spatial computing, certain limitations remain, including a lack of compelling content outside of entertainment. In addition, VR headsets are very tiring for the eyes when used for long periods of time. Manufacturers still have to make trade-offs between weight, battery life, heat dissipation, and performance. Until significant technological breakthroughs are achieved, the global VR headset market is likely to continue to face challenges.
The global augmented reality (AR) headset market contracted by 8% in 2024 compared to the previous year. It is expected to not only recover in 2025 but also start growing, growing by 30% per year by 2026. This will be driven by the entry of new devices created by tech giants into the market, as well as the acceleration of AR technology development in combination with artificial intelligence.