Worldwide Augmented Reality (AR) Market Valuation

Source Research:

Augmented Reality Market Data Overview: Q2 2024

Presentation | 15 May 2024 | PT-2632
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Global Augmented Reality (AR) Market Outlook, 2024-2030

The worldwide Augmented Reality (AR) market size is valued at US$35.8 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to US$233.3 billion by 2030, an estimated  CAGR of 36.7% during the forecast window. Software and services take the lion’s share of the AR market, accounting for 93% of total AR revenue today and 83% share by 2030.

AR is an integral aspect of digital transformation for organizations, used for remote assistance, employee training, simulation, virtual workspaces, and other enterprise applications. On the consumer side of the market, augmented reality provides more immersive gaming, education, shopping, tourism, sporting, and art experiences.   

Some of the hottest AR market innovators covered by ABI Research include the following companies:

AR Software Revenue, 2024-2030

The Augmented Reality (AR) software and services market will be valued at US$33.1 billion in 2024 and is forecast to grow to a US$192.8 billion market valuation by 2030, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 34.1% between 2024 and 2030.

Software and content are the largest AR revenue growth drivers throughout the market forecast. The consumer segment is larger due to a greater number of active AR devices, although the Average Revenue per User (ARPU) is higher in the enterprise segment.

Platform and licensing, systems integration, internal IT spending, and connectivity are most prominent in enterprise implementations of augmented reality. Often, AR content that may normally be counted in the software and content category is included in these segments depending on the method of implementation (e.g., System Integrator (SI) revenue touching content creation/distribution).

By 2030, the augmented reality market is projected to have software and services revenue as follows:

  • Consumer Software and Content: US$53 billion
  • Platform and Licensing: US$35.8 billion
  • AR Advertising: US$34 billion
  • Internal IT Spending: US$25.9 billion
  • Enterprise Software and Content: US$18 billion
  • Other (integration, connectivity, etc.): US$26.1 billion
 

(Chart Source: ABI Research)

Regional Trends in the AR Software Market:

  • Regional software and service revenue mostly follows hardware trends. As expected, North America, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific are the largest verticals. Asia-Pacific is most commonly driven by lower ARPUs offset by more active AR users, with North America and Western Europe, seeing the expected reverse of high ARPUs with fewer users.
  • The traditionally high costs of AR devices currently hinder consumer growth for augmented reality software in developing regions. However, as costs for AR smart glasses decrease and consumer users increase, we can expect to see a significant boost in consumer growth. This is particularly true in well-connected regions, where higher populations and improved connectivity lead to quicker hardware growth, reassuring stakeholders about the market's potential for expansion.
  • The AR software and services market will be led by Asia-Pacific, with AR revenue growing at a CAGR of 33.1% between 2024 and 2030, reaching US$62.7 billion by 2030. North America will closely trail and grow at a CAGR of 31.8%, totaling US$51.4 billion in AR software/services revenue by the end of the forecast period.
  • Western Europe is the third most significant region for AR, surpassing the US$48 billion mark by 2030 and growing at a CAGR of 38.2%. The Middle East & Africa, currently the smallest regional AR market with plenty of room to improve, will experience the largest growth rate (43%). Meanwhile, our AR market report indicates that Eastern Europe and Latin America will experience similar growth rates and generate similar revenues throughout the forecast (US$10+ billion in 2030).
 

(Chart Source: ABI Research)

AR Hardware Revenue, 2024-2030

ABI Research also forecasts the AR hardware market to grow at an impressive 57.6% CAGR between 2024 and 2030, reaching a market valuation of US$40.5 billion in 2030. Our research analysts find that the consumer segment is the biggest revenue driver for AR smart glasses hardware, reaching US$9.3 billion in 2030 and growing at a CAGR of 70.5%.

Manufacturing is another growth driver for AR hardware as companies leverage smart glasses for remote assistance, employee training, simulation, and other industrial use cases. By 2030, manufacturers will account for US$7.1 billion of the AR hardware market.

 

(Chart Source: ABI Research)

AR hardware shipments will grow at a robust CAGR of 62.2%, increasing from 2.8 million units in 2024 to 51.7 million units in 2030. In line with AR software revenue trends, the biggest regions for AR hardware sales lie in Asia-Pacific, North America, and Western Europe.

The global installed base for AR smart glasses hardware will reach 132.7 million users by 2030, a more than twentyfold increase compared to 2024. Our market report further predicts that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi will be the most common connectivity types used for augmented reality use cases.

 

(Chart Source: ABI Research)

Methodology

Why this data is compiled:

ABI Research publishes its Augmented Reality market data (MD) models to help clients assess market opportunities and market size through software/services and hardware segmentation of the latest AR market data. It examines and quantifies monetization paths and opportunities across key segments of the AR market and identifies underlying market forces driving AR/MR implementation and usage across all segments studied.

Future updates:

ABI Research has published dedicated market data on the AR market since 2015, with qualitative coverage since 2013. This dataset quantifies the AR market. This report’s publication is currently scheduled for a semi-annual refresh cycle. Additional markets and segmentation may be added over time, as ABI Research anticipates some refinements to current research methodologies and forecast modeling.

Modeling:

Along with tracking news and announcements throughout the life of the product, interviews are conducted with numerous companies in each aspect of the AR value chain, including device manufacturers, hardware suppliers, software creators, developers, potential customers, etc. This allows us to understand the augmented reality market size, business models, current role, and roadmaps throughout the forecast. This is combined with publicly released data to create a forecasting model for shipments and installed base of AR devices. For some markets, existing ABI Research data are used to understand potential growth for novel devices, technologies, and applications. Average Selling Prices (ASPs) per AR device type, vertical, and region are used to forecast device revenue. Other AR revenue is calculated using these shipment and installed base data combined with existing ABI Research data for markets into which these categories are expanding.

Data validation:

Before publishing any output from ABI Research’s forecasting model, AR market data have been shared with key industry players and stakeholders for validation. Feedback received from different parts of the augmented reality value chain is then harmonized, enabling ABI Research to tweak modeling parameters and assumptions to align with realistic industry expectations.