Near-eye display market to see a 2025 slowdown before a major rebound in 2026

The market for near-eye displays is heading for a temporary downturn in 2025, largely due to a gap in new virtual reality (VR) product launches. However, this dip is expected to be short-lived. In this analysis, Omdia’s Senior Research Analyst, Kimi Lin, explores the factors behind the 2025 decline and details why a significant rebound, driven by new products from major brands, is forecast for 2026.

VR product gap to drive 20.7% shipment decline in 2025

The market for VR end-products, including video-see-through mixed reality (VST MR), is anticipated to experience a lack of new devices in 2025. This coincides with the discontinuation of several older products, such as Meta’s Quest Pro and Sony’s PSVR2. While Samsung’s MR device, known as Moohan, is expected to be launched by the end of this year, most of its sales are likely to occur in 2026. As a result, shipments of near-eye displays are forecast to drop to 12.8 million units in 2025, reflecting a 20.7% year-over-year (YoY) decline.

In contrast, the augmented reality (AR) market, which includes optical see-through mixed reality (MR) devices, has performed well, thanks to the introduction of several new products. Although shipment volumes for individual models remain limited, the overall total should see a significant increase. However, owing to AR’s currently low market base, this growth is unlikely to reverse the overall downward trend for near-eye displays in the near term.

Meta’s new MR device and OLEDoS to spearhead 57.9% rebound in 2026

According to Omdia’s research, most leading brands, including Meta, Apple, Huawei, and Pico, are expected to launch new MR products in 2026. All of these products will utilize OLED on silicon (OLEDoS) displays, which will significantly boost shipments of near-eye displays.

Among these brands, Meta’s upcoming product is particularly noteworthy. The company plans to release a lightweight MR device with an external battery, similar in design to the Apple Vision Pro. However, the display will be only 0.91 inches - much smaller than the Vision Pro’s – in an effort to reduce cost and weight. It’s speculated that demand for this product will be high, and Meta is in discussions with BOE and SeeYA regarding display supply.

Driven by high sales expectations for Meta’s new device, near-eye display shipments are projected to rebound significantly, reaching 20.2 million units by 2026 and representing a 57.9% YoY increase.

AR displays to drive long-term market growth

In the long term, Omdia forecasts that AR displays have greater growth potential than VR displays. The main applications for VR are currently limited to gaming, watching movies, and live streaming. As a result, overall VR applications remain restricted, leading to stable but not explosive growth unless there are significant breakthroughs in future.
In contrast, although the existing base of AR applications is relatively small, Omdia anticipates a more optimistic growth trajectory for AR displays, supported by the continuous advancement of display and light engine technologies.