The total installed base of augmented reality head-mounted devices will reach 6.5 million units by 2025, according to an augmented reality forecast from Parks Associates.The report, “Augmented Reality: Innovations and Lifecycle,” found that more than 60% of U.S. broadband households are interested in receiving information enhanced by AR on their handheld device or headset. The most popular use is navigational information.
The report also points to low familiarity with AR. Only 12% of head of U.S. broadband households are familiar with it. Familiarity increases to 24% and 33% among millennials and Generation Z, respectively.
“Interest in AR capabilities is high, and many people have unknowingly interacted with AR features through apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, and iMessage, while Pokémon Go was the first AR mobile game to receive widespread attention and adoption,” Parks Associates’ Senior Analyst Kristen Hanich said in a press release. “While familiarity with AR remains low, consumers are interested in the capabilities that come with AR.”
Researchers note, for example, that 42% of US broadband households are interested in AR-enhanced navigation applications.
The use cases for consumers and the enterprise differ, the report says. Residential use cases focus on apps for smartphones and handheld devices, while enterprises are more interested in head-mounted devices—presumably for training, field support and other applications in which users’ hands must be free. Parks Associates says that enterprise adoption will increase considerably in the next few years: from less than 300,000 units at the end of last year to 6.5 million units in 2025.
The category seems to be well positioned to generate the type of numbers that Parks Associates suggests. The firm’s two main points–that there is great interested in AR but that a relatively low percentage of people are familiar with it–suggests a significant upside as people become more knowledgeable and the ecosystem ramps up development efforts.