It is that time of year during which we will see new results regarding the VR industry. With headset sales still in a slump, there aren’t too many changes to expect. What is rather remarkable is how Samsung’s lead over Sony has narrow quite a lot. Worldwide shipments for both companies are up in Q2 2017, whereas HTC and “others’ see a significant reduction in shipped headsets. The excitement for VR is slowly shifting to AR, by the look of things.
VR Headset Sales Q2 2017 Are Pretty Surprising
As mentioned before, Sony is one force to be reckoned with in the VR headset race. Although their hardware requires people to own a PlayStation 4, their sales are still going up. It is possible the recent price reduction may have something to do with this trend, though. Then again, both HTC and Oculus reduced their headset prices as well. Unfortunately, those sales aren’t doing so hot right now. HTC even notes a decline in shipments from Q1 to Q2 2017.
Both Sony and Samsung are the big winners in this race so far. Unit sales have picked up despite a very strong first quarter of 2017. The difference is slightly larger for Sony, although not by much. The company is closing the gap with Samsung, though. Oculus has seen a lot more sales in the second quarter as well. In fact, the Q2 figures are about 75% higher compared to Q1 2017. This goes to show there is still a strong demand for the Oculus Rift. Given its recent price reduction as well, that isn’t entirely surprising.
For HTC, it will be a matter of survival right now. If the sales do not pick up in Q3 and Q4, the company’s in big trouble. Given the recent rumors regarding them potentially exiting the VR space altogether, it is not entirely clear what the company will do. They also discounted their headset by quite a margin. However, people still think it is either too expensive or not appealing enough, by the look of things. An interesting few months await the company, that much is evident.
The “others” segment also sees fewer sales. Cheaper VR headsets have somewhat of an appeal, but they won’t improve overall sales anytime soon. It appears some of the focus is already shifting to augmented reality as we speak. That is not a good sign for the VR industry overall, though. VR Still accounts for 98% of all AR/VR shipments. As long as the number remains above 75%, there is no reason for concern just yet.
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