Augmented reality devices are taking off

The augmented reality (AR) device market has so far been dominated by enterprise devices, despite AR being popular with consumers on smartphones, with breakout hit apps like Pokémon GO and Snapchat. 

Consumer devices have yet to reach the mainstream, but there are encouraging signs, says Strategy Analytics in its latest report, “Has Consumer AR finally arrived? Market triples from 2020-2021”. It shows that the consumer AR device market tripled from 2020 to 2021. Nreal has taken an early lead in this space, with a 75% share of consumer AR shipments in 2021.

The report author, executive director David MacQueen, says: “Consumer shipments grew 161% YoY from 2020 to 2021. In the same period, growth in consumer AR revenues outpaced the overall market, growing over 300% YoY. There is a broad range of devices attempting to address the consumer AR market. However, none has achieved more than a single-digit % share of shipments in 2020 or 2021, with one notable exception. It is newcomer Nreal which is driving the consumer AR market, having found the sweet spot for both price ($599) and functionality. A 75% market share of consumer AR shipments in 2021, rising to 81% in 1H 2022, demonstrates Nreal’s success.”

“Nreal has a lead over its competitors with its optical technology. Comparing the Nreal Light and Air against over 60 other devices in our Dedicated AR Device Specification Tracker, Nreal devices are in the top 16% of devices by display resolution and rank in the top 20% device grouping for the field of view (FoV). Nreal’s go-to-market strategy, in partnership with carriers, has been another key factor in building the company’s leadership position. The company now has a global reach with 8 carriers in 7 countries, across 3 continents.”