According to the latest report from market research agency Strategy Analytics, the revenue scale of the consumer AR terminal market tripled between 2020 and 2021. Nreal was an early leader in this space, with shipments reaching 75% market share in 2021 and rising to 81% in the first half of 2022.
The agency predicts that by 2027, the global dedicated AR headset market will ship nearly 60 million units. Today's AR terminal market is dominated by enterprise terminals, such as Microsoft's HoloLens. Enterprise terminals, although relatively valuable, have limited shipments. Only when the consumer market takes off can the overall market for AR headsets highlight its potential.
"Between 2020 and 2021, consumer AR headset shipments increased by 161% year-over-year," said David MacQueen, executive director of Strategy Analytics and author of the report. During the same period, the revenue growth of consumer AR headset devices exceeded the overall market, with a year-on-year increase of more than 300%. â€
Nowadays, many terminals are trying to break through the consumer AR market. Kopin Solos, Focals by North, OPPO Glass, various Epsom devices, and countless KickStarter campaigns (including products in different shapes such as the motorcycle helmet Jarvish) are vying for public attention. Most of these devices are aimed at specific niches: health fitness, drone "prosumers", motorcycle riders. No company has shipped more than single digits, with one exception.
Driving the consumer AR market is the newcomer Nreal, which has found the sweet spot in terms of price ($599) and features. Nreal was founded in 2017, and by 2020, the company accounted for 30% of the shipment share and 51% of the revenue share of the consumer AR headset market. With Lenovo's withdrawal from the consumer AR headset market, Nreal's market position has been further enhanced. In 2021, Nreal's share of consumer AR terminal shipments reached 75%, and by the first half of 2022, its market share rose to 81%, occupying a strong position in the early consumer AR market.
One of the reasons for being able to achieve this market position is that through its technological approach, Nreal has reduced the price of AR hardware to a level that is acceptable to consumers. Currently, the company has a global presence and cooperates with 8 operators in 7 countries on three continents.