Aussie demand for VR to outstrip supply in 2016

Demand for virtual reality and augmented headsets among Australian consumers will outstrip supply in 2016, according to research from analyst firm Telsyte.

The company predicts that 110,000 VR headsets will be sold in Australia in 2016, with this growing to more than 500,000 per year by 2020.

Strong market growth will come next year and in 2018 as manufacturers ramp up production to meet demand and more use cases emerge for the technology.

The latest wave of virtual reality headsets include Facebook's Oculus Rift, Sony's PlayStation VR, the HTC Vive, the Samsung Galaxy VR and the decidedly more low-tech Google Cardboard — which is essentially a cardboard box designed to hold a smartphone and be held up to the face.

Augmented reality devices such as Microsoft's HoloLens are meanwhile designed to interact with the real world with visual overlays.

Projected demand for the devices is impressive, considering the high price tag in Australia. The Oculus, for example, will cost Australians over $1100 after shipping costs.

Telsyte expects that the initial wave of demand for the devices among Australian consumers will come from gamers. But potential applications also include movie and sports watching and education, as well as social networking, live streaming, health and fitness, and business applications..

Image courtesy of bibliothèque Louise Michel under CC