IDC China stated that the VR market in mainland China entered a low period last year, with an annual growth rate of only 72.2%, and the growth rate was lower than expected. Among them, desktop head-on and headless display only maintained an annual growth of around 40%, especially with no screen heads. In the second half of the year, growth was even weaker; Independent Head Start was the only product category that last year maintained rapid growth, achieving an annual growth of 264.6%.
IDC China pointed out that China has led the world in the development of VR independent headlines. Related products also first appeared in China. As early as early 2016, mainland VR manufacturers began targeting independent heads of this market. IDC data shows that the Chinese market was in 2016 and In the two years of 2017, a total of 360,000 units were shipped independently, which is more than 20 times the total volume shipped in other regions of the world.
There are three main reasons for this. First, mainland domestic manufacturers take advantage of the first-mover advantage to dominate the market. Independent head-end categories can avoid the disadvantages of desktop head-display technology research and development that require high or no screen head display. The disadvantages of smartphone ecological chain support are not yet available. Before entering the mainland, mainland Chinese manufacturers seized this blue ocean investment, especially the “Shenzhen model” with fast-paced distribution and price advantages, to promote the growth of the independent market. IDC data shows that in the overall independent headline market in 2017, White card independent accounted for as high as 37.3%.
Secondly, it attracts entry-level users at a relatively low price. IDC China pointed out that in 2017, the average unit price of an independent head is RMB 1,742 (RMB, the same below), and the price of an independent brand of Baipai even drops the price to less than RMB 1,000. The features that are ready to use, compared with the need for desktop and non-screen display of computers, game consoles or mobile phones, have a lower threshold price advantage and can effectively attract entry-level users who have not experienced VR.
Thirdly, gifts and industry orders have contributed to the growth of market demand. IDC China pointed out that emerging technology products that are new/easy-to-operate and reasonably priced are very easy to use as gifts in the Chinese market to further promote this market. Independent requirements were more evident in the application scenarios of exhibitions and marketing. Related industry order purchases also promoted the development of the all-in-one commercial market.
IDC China stated that in 2018, there will be more global manufacturers, such as HTC, Oculus, Google, etc., to join the independent head-end competition camp. IDC China Research Manager Zheng Xi believes that independent head-display products will become more mature. However, independent heads want to develop smoothly. We must build a better ecosystem, especially more high-quality content, so as to ensure continuous growth in the consumer market. We can truly use VR technology for digital transformation in the vertical commercial market.