![]() The virtual reality (VR) market has made significant strides throughout 2016. However, the broad adoption of smartphone-powered devices, which give consumers a taste of VR technology, as well as the gradual reduction in the price of more immersive headsets, will encourage greater adoption of these devices. Meanwhile, ultra-immersive headsets like HTC's Vive or the Oculus Rift will cater to only a niche market in the near future. This allows VR users to access and view any WebVR-supported content from the Samsung Internet app on their phones. Many companies, including Samsung, are utilizing the mobile web to bypass the processing issue. Smartphone-powered VR headsets, already by far the largest category of consumer VR headsets on the market today, will likely experience the fastest adoption over the next five years due to their relatively low cost and the broad array of content available. This segment accounted for roughly 66% of total VR shipments in 2016, according to BI Intelligence estimates.Äeveloping better content for smartphone-powered headsets will be key in maintaining this growth over time. One big pitfall of the devices is that smartphones are unable to support the massive processing power needed for more complex VR experiences. Smartphone-powered VR headsets are the most accessible on the market and will be the first category to see significant adoption. That's because they rely on a smartphone docked within the headset to power the experience, rather than PCs or consoles. Additionally, there was a big uptick in sales over the holiday period, according to Amazon sales rankings cited in Upload VR. Word-of-mouth marketing also bolstered awareness of the devices. Promotions like these helped encourage consumers to try the headsets through in-store demos. Samsung's large volume of Gear VR sales is likely in part due to the way the company bundled its headsets with the sales of its flagship smartphones, like the Galaxy S7 and the Note 7. These are some of the first numbers offered by a VR vendor and provide an optimistic view for the future of the VR market. Samsung sold 5 million Gear VR headsets in 2016, Samsung America President Tim Baxter told audiences during CES 2017 in Las Vegas last week, placing the company at the top of the VR market.Ä«axter also noted that Gear VR consumers have viewed more than 10 million hours of 360-degree videos in VR. To learn more and subscribe, please click here. This story was delivered to BI Intelligence Apps and Platforms Briefing subscribers. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. ![]()
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