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Forecast: Education to Help Drive VR Growth

Education is one of the categories that will help propel the growth of virtual reality over the next five years. According to a new market forecast from ABI Research, the virtual reality market will grow 45.7 percent year over year, reaching $24.5 billion in 2024. Standalone VR gear will account for 70 percent of the market.

ABI noted: “While VR has yet to live up to its early expectations, there is positive momentum and strong activity beyond the mainstream’s vision.”

According to ABI Principal Analyst Michael Inouye: “Gaming remains the main driver on the consumer side and with titles like “Half-Life: Alyx” soon to be released. Coupled with Sony’s continued support of VR, gaming is buoying the consumer side of the market. VR had a less than stellar start, and while it’s still a long-time horizon, some of the building blocks have solidified, affording VR the time it needs to reach its potential across verticals.”

However the consumer market will be overshadowed by commercial and enterprise applications, according to ABI, with education emrging as one of the key segments for growth. “By revenue, the commercial and enterprise markets are expected to eclipse the consumer segment by 2021, with healthcare, retail, AEC, education, and location-based VR seeing early traction and expected to continue pushing this market forward,” ABI noted.

“Overall, 2019 was a mixed bag for VR, but the good were solid steps forward. Some highs from new products like Oculus Quest and Rift S, HTC Vive Cosmos, Valve Index, and Varjo’s impressive enterprise HMDs, came along with some new lows, like Google ending development of Daydream and open-sourcing Cardboard, which leaves this segment in a bleak situation. But HMD viewers could, in time, help bring this segment back from the brink. The standout is standalone VR, which is shaping up well, addressing many of the early issues and is meeting early expectations, which bodes well for both the consumer and enterprise markets,” Inouye said.

For more details, visit abiresearch.com.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


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