Sales of devices for virtual (VR) and Augmented (AR) reality will increase tenfold in the next five years, and the corporate segment will grow at the highest rates.

According to the forecast of analysts of International Data Corporation (IDC), in 2021 the deliveries of VR- and AR-sets will amount to 100 million pieces, whereas in 2016 they were measured less than 10 million units. The market is predicted an annual growth of 57.7%.

While a large part (more than 80% in 2016) of VR-equipment is sold to consumers. However, experts expect that by 2021 shipments of such electronics for commercial purposes will increase by 58.1% per year, while the consumer segment will grow by 46% annually. As a result, the share of the corporate category will increase to 27%.

Among AR-devices, the best sales are already shown by commercial solutions: in 2016, they were produced in the amount of 110.5 thousand units, which corresponds to 68% of the market. By 2021, the share will rise to 83.3%, and the supply of such gadgets will increase by 184.1% per year. Increasing interest in AR-headsets is shown by medical institutions, manufacturing enterprises, designers and outreach workers.

IDC notes that while the augmented reality lags behind in popularity from virtual, since the former is not so important from a practical point of view and at the same time it is more difficult to implement it. However, in the coming years AR technology will have an increasingly stronger impact on the market, although during its initial testing, users are likely to use non-specialized AR devices rather than smartphones and tablets, the IDC.

"It's quite obvious that augmented reality is the larger of the two plays when we look at AR and VR," said IDC analyst Ryan Reith,. - Companies like Microsoft, Epson, Intel, Meta, ODG and DAQRI, already offer devices used in commercial projects and providing a high return on investment. Other companies that have not implemented such devices are preparing to do this. We believe that in the next five years many industrial jobs will undergo drastic changes because of the augmented reality. First of all, this concerns not consumer, but more adaptable markets for specialized AR-headsets ".