Now you see me… Sales of virtual- and augmented-reality goggles have fallen off a digital cliff, sinking nearly 40% this year (after dropping just 2% last year). In the second quarter alone, the overall volume of global VR/AR shipments plummeted 45% on the year. VR demand cooled as thriftier consumers cut back on pricey electronics — including $250 headsets. The shift shows:
Off-grid: Google searches for “metaverse” have plummeted 96% since 2021 highs, while searches for “virtual reality” are down 58%. But tech biggies aren’t giving up…
New reality, mixed results… Meta claims over half of the market share for VR devices, and in October the biz launched its newest Quest 3 headset. But with demand cooling and its Reality Labs division bleeding billions, Meta’s been slashing prices. Rival Sony launched its own second-gen VR2 headset this year, but it hasn’t taken off. (FYI: it needs the $500 PS5 console to run.) Meanwhile, TikTok parent ByteDance reportedly killed plans for its Pico 5 headset last week after sales of its previous Pico 4 device “fell far short” of expectations.
You can’t force the future… Tech giants have spent a fortune trying to make virtual reality our shared reality. But after years of being stuck inside (and with pandemic savings drying up), consumers are choosing IRL experiences over pricey virtual ones. Still, the industry’s holding out hope: experts say Apple’s new $3.5K Vision Pro mixed-reality headset might get people hyped for AR/VR again, and they’re expecting a sales rebound next year.