Use of VR headsets growing despite small decline in numbers

Homes with VR headsets almost doubled their use of headset related between 2021 and 2022, despite a small decrease in the number of headsets per home, according to data from wireless technology provider Plume.

In its latest survey update, Plume has explored the popularity and usage of Wi-Fi-connected VR headsets comparing the behaviour in the same homes across the second half of 2021 and the second half of 2022.

When comparing the two time periods, the results show that Plume households that own a VR headset have not added more devices, with a marginal decline of 0.9% in the average number per home. However, over the same period, there has been a major increase in VR headset-related data usage of 83.9%, Plume said.

The company also saw a marginal increase in accumulated busy hours per day of 0.9%.

Plume inferred from the data that while users aren’t using their VR headsets for longer periods, they are using more data-rich services and applications.

Meta is the dominant player, responsible for 99.7% of VR headset deployments in Plume homes.

Plume said that VR remains niche, but noted that richer applications may increase its popularity.

Plume has conducted a global study of usage habits among homes powered by its cloud-driven solution. Plume has connected more than 2.2 billion WiFi-enabled devices and currently manages over 45 million locations in the Plume Cloud globally.

“Our latest Plume IQ study reveals some fascinating insights into the virtual reality headset market. With data usage increasing markedly, and busy hours increasing only marginally, our indices suggest that more data-rich and bandwidth-hungry applications are arriving into the market. However, we’re not seeing a major increase in the number of devices per household suggesting that the market is flat. Today, it’s a segment dominated by one brand Meta with its Oculus headsets, though we do see other players including Microsoft and Varjo entering,” said David Huynh, chief product officer at Plume.