Oyster Bay, New York - 20 Feb 2020: The Virtual Reality (VR) market will surpass US$24.5 billion in revenues by 2024, quickly growing at a 45.7% CAGR (2019 to 2024), finds global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research. Standalone VR will be the main driver of this growth, expected to account for over 70% of shipments by 2024, as it finds the optimal balance between price, performance, and ease of setup.

In 2019 the successful launch of Oculus Quest HMD highlighted the capability of 6DoF standalone VR solutions to replicate the more immersive experiences of tethered systems while remaining portable. This is a key attribute for the commercial and enterprise markets where applications like training are gaining traction and acceptance.

By revenue, the commercial and enterprise markets are expected to eclipse the consumer segment by 2021, with healthcare, retail, AEC, education, and location-based VR seeing early traction and expected to continue pushing this market forward. “Training and 3D visualization are the most common use cases but other applications like virtual meetings and productivity will become increasingly common as hardware and platforms improve and evolve,” says Michael Inouye, Principal Analyst at ABI Research.  

“Overall, 2019 was a mixed bag for VR, but the good were solid steps forward. Some highs from new products like Oculus Quest and Rift S, HTC Vive Cosmos, Valve Index, and Varjo’s impressive enterprise HMDs, came along with some new lows, like Google ending development of Daydream and open-sourcing Cardboard, which leaves this segment in a bleak situation. But HMD viewers could, in time, help bring this segment back from the brink. The standout is standalone VR, which is shaping up well, addressing many of the early issues and is meeting early expectations, which bodes well for both the consumer and enterprise markets,” Inouye explains.

While VR has yet to live up to its early expectations, there is positive momentum and strong activity beyond the mainstream’s vision. Inouye concludes, “Gaming remains the main driver on the consumer side and with titles like “Half-Life: Alyx” soon to be released. Coupled with Sony’s continued support of VR, gaming is buoying the consumer side of the market. VR had a less than stellar start, and while it’s still a long-time horizon, some of the building blocks have solidified, affording VR the time it needs to reach its potential across verticals.”