Global shipments of augmented reality (XR) devices will grow 44.4 per cent in 2025, driven largely by the rapid adoption of smart glasses, according to IDC.
“As AI-enabled lightweight glasses have grown in popularity, shipments of virtual and mixed reality headsets have declined sharply, indicating a structural shift in how users interact with XR,” the research firm said in its report.
XR are technologies that combine or augment physical and digital environments, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR).
Increasing availability of smart glasses through products such as Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses has been a major growth driver for the XR market. At the same time, demand for bulkier VR – and MR headsets has narrowed, becoming increasingly concentrated in the gaming segment, analysts said.
Meta maintained its global market dominance with a 72.2 per cent share, helped by its partnership with EssilorLuxottica and the expansion of its smart glasses portfolio. Xiaomi (with a 4.2% share) and Xreal (2.3%) followed next.
IDC forecasts the global XR market to grow at a CAGR of 33.5% in 2026. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the period 2026-2030. It is expected to be 26.5%.