Tight, Tight, Tight!

The 2024 Race for XR Dominance is Entering a New Dimension of Intensity

(The original article was published in early September 2024 - this is an update)

The XR market has seen a whirlwind of developments in 2024, and up until a few weeks ago, it all seems to orbit around Apple’s Vision Pro which has already reshaped the XR (AR, VR, MR and spatial computing) landscape in ways both thrilling and controversial.

Meta just reclaimed the lead role.

?1. Raising the Bar for XR User Experience

Apple’s Vision Pro has forced the XR industry to step up its game. By raising both user and market expectations, it pushed competitors to refine their mixed-reality (MR) capabilities. Vision Pro set new benchmarks for immersive media consumption, causing tech giants (e.g. Meta) to rethink their XR strategies and race back into the market (e.g. Samsung).?

2. XR Is Ready for Everyone Beyond Gamers

The device also shattered assumptions about XR interaction. Through gaze and hand gestures, Apple showed that controller-free experiences can be not only functional but highly appealing—especially to non-gamers. This has broadened the XR audience potential, making it more accessible to a larger demographic. Competitors are following suit.

3. Price as a Battleground?

The Vision Pro tested the market’s tolerance for premium XR headset pricing and confirmed what was expected: it’s too high. Meta went the other way with the launch of the most affordable Mixed-Reality headset the Quest 3S.

?4. Developer Shift to Spatial Computing

Apple’s jump into spatial computing hardware has drawn the attention of developers worldwide. Millions of iOS and Android developers are now exploring spatial applications development. The surge in interest is also fueled by unprecedented funding programs for creators by investors such as A16z's and Meta’s Quest Lifestyle App Accelerator.

?5. Smartglasses Are Seeing Eye-popping Growth

Apple’s decision to shelf its AR glasses, and instead release what is essentially a VR headset with strong AR capabilities, has led the market to accept that full featured AR glasses will take time to mature. This belief supercharged sales for simpler affordable smartglasses such as XREAL’s and Meta Rayban’s predicted to double 2023 numbers to 1.5 million units sold in 2024! Furthermore, the unveiling of Snap’s new Spectacles and Meta’s Orion prototype AR Glasses demonstrated that the fully functional AR glasses are not so far away. This is rumored to ignite Apple to restart its AR glasses with aims of competing with Meta.

6. Enterprise Adoption: XR as a Business Powerhouse

Perhaps the most significant shift is XR’s dominance in the enterprise sector, which now accounts for 71% of global XR market revenues and is uncharacteristically Apple’s initial target market with the Vision Pro. Businesses have finally embraced XR as a practical tool for training, remote collaboration, productivity, and safety. It’s also become a fertile ground for startups and big tech alike in attracting significant investment and wide deployment. This trend suggests XR’s biggest growth potential in the short term lies not in gaming or entertainment but in transforming how businesses operate.

7. AI??XR: The Power Couple of 2024

While AI stole the spotlight from XR in the last 2 years, 2024 has shown that the two technologies are not rivals but complements. AI makes XR experiences faster, cheaper, and better. In return, XR serves as a crucial interface that keeps humans at the center of AI development, offering a safer way to integrate AI into our daily lives. This symbiotic relationship is becoming one of the most exciting tech trends of the year – which is also manifested in the Vision Pro – it’s no longer just about AI’s potential—XR makes that potential useful and safer.

It's a thrilling race and the #1 place to watch this race live and in person is at AWE!