Global XR headset shipments fell 33% in Q1 this year: Report

NEW DELHI: Global extended reality (XR) headset shipments (covering augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets) declined 33 per cent (year-on-year) in Q1 2023, a new report said on Wednesday.

According to Counterpoint Research, customers are losing interest in the XR market, as Meta’s Quest series, the market leader, has not been refreshed in over two years.

"The performance of the newly launched next-generation Sony PSVR2 (PlayStation VR2), along with the price reduction of the Quest 2 by Meta, saved the global market from a more drastic decline," said Senior Analyst Karn Chauhan.

Moreover, the report showed that Meta was the best-selling global XR headset brand during Q1 2023, with the Quest 2 as its long-time best-performing VR headset.

The Quest series has shipped over 20 million units as of Q1 2023, with the Quest 2 contributing 18 million units.

Meta has announced the release of Quest 3 later this year, which is expected to boost sales and transition from Quest 2's success.

Despite this, Meta's shipment share dropped to 49 per cent in Q1 2023, the lowest since the release of Quest 2 in Q4 2020. This drop was caused by the highly anticipated release of Sony's successor to its 2016 headset, PSVR, according to the report.

The newly released PSVR2 drew significant attention from the video-gaming brand's user base, propelling Sony to second place with a 32 per cent market share in Q1 2023. Pico and DPVR took third and fourth places with market shares of 7 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively.

"2023 is the year of next-generation VR headset launches. Sony’s PSVR2, DPVR’s E4 and HTC’s Vive XR Elite are some of the prominent launches so far this year," said Chauhan.

"Apple has announced its Vision Pro, which has set a new high bar for consumer XR devices, though at a price above most people’s reach," he added.