Augmented and Virtual Reality Leading Growth in Emerging Devices – T.H.E. Journal

Tech Trends

Augmented and virtual reality will grow to more than eight timesits current size over the next five years, making it the fast-growingcategory among emerging devices, which include wearables and smarthome devices.

According to a new report from tech market research firm IDC,augmented and virtual reality will finish 2021 at a total value of$4.43 billion. In 2025, that value will escalate to $36.11 billion,representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 68.4%.

"Virtual Reality headsets are seeing strong growth in 2021from both consumer and commercial buyers," said Tom Mainelli,group vice president for IDC'sAugmented and Virtual Reality team, in a prepared statement. "Weexpect VR growth to continue well into the future as more consumerand enterprise use cases present themselves. Today, AR headsets areprimarily focused on enterprise use cases, but we do anticipateconsumer-focused headsets will gain traction in the later years ofour forecast as major technology companies enter the space with newproducts."

According to the report: "Augmented and Virtual Reality willsee the fastest value growth in the coming years with theanticipation of new devices coming to market from both establishedand start-up companies and a warming reception among new users.Enterprise users have moved beyond exploratory and pilot use casesand into broader deployments while a growing number of consumers havedemonstrated pent-up demand for robust gaming solutions. While theheadset itself will be the site of data consumption and attention,keep an eye on how the experience evolves from consuming andinteracting with content on the device to connecting with otherdevices and systems to serve seamless experiences at work and athome."

The wearables market is already much larger than the AR/VR marketand will end 2021 at a value of $77.78 billion. By 2025, that willreach $106.35 billion, a CAGR of 9.9%.

"Wearables' value will increase with the continued popularityof earwear and smartwatches. Driving the earwear market higher is acombination of strong end-user demand, a constant replacement cycle,and a long range of devices from emerging and established companiesalike. Meanwhile, the smartwatch market will grow as the health andfitness experience evolves to provide prescriptive data as well asdescriptive data to uncover new actionable insights," accordingto the report.

Smart home is by far the largest category in emerging devices,with an expected 2021 value of $289.93 billion, growing at a compoundannual rate of 10.1% to $400.36 billion by 2025.

About the Author

David Nagel is editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Technology Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal and STEAM Universe. A 29-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art and business publications.

He can be reached at [emailprotected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at or follow him on Twitter at @THEDavidNagel (K-12) or @CampusTechDave (higher education).

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Augmented and Virtual Reality Leading Growth in Emerging Devices - T.H.E. Journal