Research

More Than Half of Americans Unfamiliar with Augmented Reality

• By Sri Ravipati
• 09/22/16

It has only been a few months since Pokémon Go was introduced in the United States, but the augmented reality (AR) mobile game has seen unparalleled success, with more than 500 million downloads on iOS and Android devices. Those who have played Pokémon Go may say it has opened the door for mass adoption of AR, but a recent survey found the opposite: More than half of Americans are unfamiliar with AR technology. 

ReportLinker Insight, a company that publishes surveys about innovative technology and trends, recently conducted an online survey of 501 individuals on the impact Pokémon Go has on AR adoption. Among the findings: 58 percent of Americans are unfamiliar with AR.

ReportLinker thinks this may reflect a “general fear of technology,” with 77 percent of survey respondents reporting that AR technology “may cause people to confuse the real and virtual worlds and blend the two worlds.”

When ReportLinker explained AR to respondents, however, about 51 percent said they will likely use AR. Close to a third (28 percent) of respondents said that entertainment is the best application for AR, followed by education (17 percent), home design (13 percent) and healthcare (12 percent). 

Unsurprisingly, millennials “lead the way when it comes to knowledge and usage of AR,” ReportLinker found. More than 81 percent of millennials are familiar with Pokémon Go and 87 percent are likely to use AR technology “thanks to their positive experience with the game.”

In response to these findings, the study concluded that there is still a long way to go before AR becomes widely known.

Further information is available on ReportLinker Insight site.