Augmented Reality: Innovations and Lifecycle

Augmented reality has the potential to revolutionize the way consumers interact with technology, each other, and the world around them. With the smartphone market entering maturity, many see augmented reality devices as potentially replacing smartphones and even personal computers in the future. This report presents an overview of the current state of augmented reality (AR) technologies and devices, with an emphasis on new innovations in the AR space that can help drive adoption. It includes a deep dive into the activities of major AR players, including Microsoft, Apple, and Google, as well as forecasts and estimates of unit sales.

For the purpose of this report, the author defines augmented reality as technologies and solutions that impose virtual images on top of a user’s view of the physical world and physical world objects. 

As of 2019, there are three primary AR form-factors:

• Handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets
• Wearable head-mounted displays, including smart glasses and headsets
• In-vehicle displays, including military and automotive heads-up displays (HUDs)

This report focuses on handheld and wearable AR devices and applications, including devices and applications that impose both two- and three-dimensional images and experiences.

Key Questions Addressed by this Research

• What is the current state of the augmented reality market?
• Which augmented reality use cases resonate with consumers and businesses?
• Which augmented reality platforms and devices are most likely to succeed in the near- and long-term?
• What are the prospects for 3D AR evolving into a dominant computing platform, on par with smartphones and PCs?
• How can service providers take advantage of augmented reality to drive 5G adoption and revenue?