Virtual reality (VR) will have its first billion-dollar year in 2016, with about $700 million in hardware sales, and the remainder from content, according to Deloitte Global’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions.

The report estimates sales of about 2.5 million VR headsets and 10 million game copies sold. Additionally, the report expects the majority of spending on VR to be by core users rather than casual gamers. This means that while anyone with a smartphone could try a variant of VR, the majority of VR’s revenues in 2016 will likely be driven by tens of millions of users rather than billions of users.

“While in 2016 virtual reality is expected to reach a major milestone – becoming a $1 billion market – in the long term VR is likely to struggle to reach the scale or ubiquity of the smartphone, PC or the television set,” said Paul Sallomi, Deloitte Global TMT industry leader. “However, as the technology required to provide a total immersive experience improves, wider global adoption may ensue.

In the long term VR is likely to struggle to reach the scale or ubiquity of the smartphone, PC or the television set

“We are seeing significant growth potential in cognitive technologies, such as computer vision, natural language processing and machine learning. This year 80 of the top 100 enterprise software companies are expected to be using cognitive technologies, unleashing the potential of the Internet of Things; this may even transform computing as we know it over time.

“While cognitive technologies may get less immediate attention from consumers than new virtual headsets, it is likely to be much more important over the long run for the enterprise and for consumers alike.”

In addition to the predictions on virtual reality, the report suggests that while millennials are the smartphone generation, trailing millennials (18- to 24-year olds) are anticipated to be the most pro-PC of all age groups of 2016. According to research by Deloitte member firms, an average of over 85 per cent of trailing millennials in 13 developed world countries had access to a laptop in 2015. Further, laptop access for the trailing millennial demographic was either the highest or second highest of the six age groups in the member firms’ surveys in all but two markets, Norway and Finland.

This data suggests 18- to 24-year-olds see smartphones and PCs as complements, not substitutes, which may in part be due to the decreased costs of laptops (there are many devices for less than $500 available on the market).

Now in its 15th year, Deloitte Global’s annual TMT Predictions provides a 12-18 month outlook on key trends in the technology, media and telecommunications industry sectors worldwide.

www2.deloitte.com/mt/tmtpredictions

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.