2022 Was a Disappointing Year for AR/VR but the Long-Term Outlook Remains Positive - Display Daily

Revenues for AR/VR displays volition full $942M successful 2022, according to the latest contented of the Biannual Augmented and Virtual Reality Display Technologies and Market Report. Despite the existent planetary economical downturn, the semipermanent outlook for AR/VR displays remains positive, with revenues expected to turn astatine a compound yearly maturation complaint (CAGR) of 50.7% and reaching $7.3B by 2027.

2022 has been a challenging twelvemonth for AR/VR instrumentality makers, with Meta lowering its income people and Sony pushing the merchandise of the PlayStation VR2 until February adjacent year. Total instrumentality shipments for headsets and astute glasses are inactive expected to summation by 11.5% compared to 2021. DSCC notes that AMOLED panels person already started shipping for the Sony headset, truthful they lend to this year’s sheet revenues.

Display Panel Revenues (VR and Passthrough AR)

The panels successful the PlayStation VR2 volition scope 850 PPI, a important summation implicit the 615 PPI that was disposable connected erstwhile AMOLED headsets, specified arsenic the Oculus Quest 1 and the HTC Vive Pro. DSCC's Guillaume Chansin, Director of Display Research stated, "We judge Samsung Display has developed a caller process to execute this level of pixel density. One tin speculate that the patterning exertion is based connected photolithography, though precocious FMM is besides imaginable (as presented by APS Research during the AR/VR Display Forum). It remains the beryllium seen whether different brands volition follow precocious solution AMOLED for aboriginal headsets."

LCD inactive easy beats AMOLED connected pixel density. The precocious launched Meta Quest Pro and Pico 4 diagnostic panels with 1050 PPI and 1200 PPI, respectively. Some LCD sheet makers person adjacent demonstrated implicit 2000 PPI. To spell beyond that, it becomes indispensable to usage microdisplays made connected CMOS silicon backplanes.

Flagship VR Headsets

We expect that OLED connected Silicon (SiOLED) microdisplays for the Apple headset volition commencement shipping adjacent year. The instrumentality is expected to beryllium a high-end headset targeted astatine developers and professionals. Apple volition astir apt merchandise a much affordable headset for consumers afterwards, but determination is immoderate uncertainty astir the show configuration. We presume that Apple volition instrumentality to SiOLED and volition propulsion suppliers to little the outgo of the displays. Meta whitethorn besides see SiOLED exertion for the 2nd procreation of the Quest Pro. Under this assumption, SiOLED revenues could scope arsenic overmuch arsenic $1.3B adjacent twelvemonth and treble successful 2024.

For see-through AR, astir companies processing precocious astute glasses look to beryllium betting connected MicroLED technology, with the objection of Magic Leap which adopted LCoS. Meta was 1 of the archetypal to admit the value of MicroLED and has been investing successful the exertion for respective years. Vuzix is inactive readying to merchandise its archetypal MicroLED astute glasses, though they volition lone amusement monochrome images. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Google acquired Raxium, a startup processing afloat colour MicroLED displays.

Several Chinese brands are offering alleged Smart Viewers, based connected birdbath optics alternatively of waveguides. These devices are presently utilizing SiOLED displays to let users to task virtual monitors to ticker videos, play games oregon adjacent enactment connected documents. Considering that SiOLED volition beryllium utilized successful some AR and VR devices, we expect that SiOLED volition person the largest marketplace stock of AR/VR displays from 2025 onwards.