IDC: Meta Still Dominates the VR Market

pcmag.com:

IDC reports(Opens in a new window) that Meta continues to dominate the VR market, but with increased competition from products like PlayStation VR 2 and the long-rumored Apple mixed reality headset, the research firm says the company formerly known as Facebook might finally start to lose market share.

Shipments of VR headsets rose 241.6% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2022, according to IDC, although the firm notes that supply chain issues constrained shipments at the start of 2021. Many recent buyers have probably wanted to pick up a VR headset for a while.

"Meta furthered its share," IDC says, "capturing 90% of the market as the Quest 2 remains immensely popular and Meta continues to offer more exclusive content while subsidizing hardware." Its closest competitor, Pico, reportedly has just 4.5% of the VR market.

But the research firm notes that Meta is coasting on past success. The company bought its way to the top of the VR market when it acquired Oculus in 2014, and even though it's been prototyping a variety of headsets, its best seller remains a product that was released in 2020.

"Meta continues to pour dollars into developing the metaverse but the strategy of promoting low-cost hardware at the expense of profitability isn't sustainable in the long run," IDC research manager Jitesh Ubrani said in a statement. "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."

The firm expects VR shipments to continue to rise throughout 2022. Some