According to current virtual reality market trends tracked by Fortune Business Insights, the sector is projected to grow from $16 billion USD in 2022 to over $200 billion by 2029. This means that if you aren’t already paying attention to VR technology, it’s time you start.
To help you to know what to keep your eye on, we’ve put together this list of our top virtual reality trends for 2022.
1. Better VR technology
As with most emerging technologies, virtual reality (VR) technology gets better, cheaper, and smaller every year. Forbes predicts that as 2022 continues, VR headsets will embrace new tech and continue to innovate. They explain: “Eye-tracking technology that lets us control interfaces with eyeball movements has already been cracked, thanks to the HHTC Vive Pro Eye headset, and we can expect more software to take advantage of this technology in the coming year.”
2. Meta vs Who?
Part of what will drive the innovation in the virtual reality market will be stiff and increasing competition. Facebook parent company Meta seems to be all-in when it comes to the future of VR and AR technology. From their name change to the opening of a VR showroom to sell their VR equipment, as CNBC highlights, Meta seems to want to drive the VR market.
But we expect others to give Meta a run for their money. Apple has long teased a foray into VR tech, and maybe 2022 will be their year as Tim Cook seems to suggest, MacRumors points out. Meanwhile, we expect a number of international players making AR and VR tech for users in the United States and abroad.
3. VR in the metaverse
As we edge closer to realizing the promise of the metaverse, VR continues to play a leading role. From the visual conception of the digital world that the metaverse suggests to the ways that VR simulators are used in today’s real world, we expect this VR trend to continue in 2022.
4. VR for real estate
One exciting VR trend that we think will expand in 2022 is the use of virtual reality technology in the real estate industry. Savvy realtors are finding ways to do fully immersive virtual showings of houses and apartments. We think home buyers will increasingly embrace real-time showings in VR applications.
5. Virtual showrooms
As the availability of VR equipment and tech grows, we predict an expansion of VR in the world of retail. We’re already seeing growth in market size for AR and mixed reality applications in retail and think that fully virtual VR showrooms are likely to become more popular.
This will be particularly true for online retailers. As Forbes puts it, “In online retail, VR solutions can be used to create more engaging and immersive shopping experiences that mimic the “hands-on” advantages of bricks ‘n’ mortar outlets.”
All of these trends suggest that there are many ways for you to get involved in VR. VR seems certain to grow in popularity and in utility.
To learn how your business can be one of our next set of VR trends, book a demo of the Ocavu platform today.