Despite gains in the area of enterprise and industry, augmented reality (AR) headsets and smart glasses have not become the universal product that Google and many other analysts envisioned when the Google Glass was first launched. While the technology has made significant strides since then, the International Data Corporation (IDC) still think that AR headsets have some work to do before they hit widespread adoption.
According to the report from IDC, the progress and growth of AR headsets continues to be outpaced by the rise of AR on smartphones and tablet devices and as a result IDC have adjusted its forecast to push growth for AR headsets further out.
Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers said:”Apple’s ARKit has continued to improve the fidelity of AR experiences on iOS devices, Google’s ARCore is becoming available on more Android devices, and third-party SDK vendors such as 8th Wall and PTC continue to drive innovation in the space.”
Most consumer AR apps are designed with smartphones and tablets in mind, though commercial applications for AR is driving demand for both standalone and tethered AR headsets. IDC expects that AR headsets will surpass the 1 million park by 2020, which will act as a tipping point after which growth will increase drastically.
“AR headset growth may seem muted, but it’s still very early days in this market,” said Tom Mainelli, vice president of Devices & AR/VR at IDC. “Right now we’re seeing vendors build out enterprise-focused software for the devices available today with an eye toward the new features that will become available in future iterations of hardware. Things will get very interesting from a volume and capability perspective in the months to come.”
Further information on the IDC report is available at the official company website. For future coverage from the VR and AR industry, keep checking back with VRFocus.