Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

How Many Consumers Actually Have VR Headsets?

Parks Associates released new consumer research this week showing that 2 percent of U.S. broadband households, or 2.3 million households, own a virtual reality headset. The survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households reportedly reveals that 5 percent of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a VR headset in 2016, an increase from only 1 percent who made a purchase the year prior.

“The big change in VR for 2016 has been the availability or pending availability of VR headsets from companies such as Facebook (Oculus Rift), Google (Google Cardboard) and HTC (Vive). Sony PlayStation VR is expected to be released in October. We expect gamers to be the initial market for VR,” Barbara Kraus, Parks Associates director of research, says. “VR is an immersive experience, and more is better for gamers – more immersion, better sound, better graphics, and more players. The mass market is more likely to adopt mobile VR, which will be less expensive and uses a tool – the smartphone – that the majority of U.S. consumers own.”

From the article "How Many Consumers Actually Have VR Headsets?" by Laura Hamilton.

Previously In The News

Why Open Wins Over Proprietary In The Smart Home

There are many glowing predictions regarding the smart home, and the wider IoT industry, but a Gartner report predicted only last year that 21 billion IoT endpoints will be in use by 2020, which will...

Local News Sources Losing Ground To Live Streaming From Social Media

A growing number of U.S. broadband households is spending more time watching user generated live content on social media, according to a new industry report from Parks Associates. The growth in this s...

Voice Commands, Personal Assistants the Next Frontier for Device Interactions, Gartner Predicts

Parks Associates released findings in October estimating that 46 percent of U.S. Millennials with smartphones use voice recognition software, while a separate report from TiVO indicated 43 percent of...

Google's DIY Security Exit Spurs Doubts About Segment's Future: Parks

Google's decision to discontinue its three-year-old Nest Secure do-it-yourself security system wasn’t a surprise, given Google’s $450 million investment in security stalwart ADT in August, Parks Assoc...