Majority of VR users say it will revitalise media, education, work, social interaction, travel and retail
Seven out of 10 early adopters of virtual and/or augmented reality hardware have bought into the buzz and firmly feel that the technology is set to disrupt media, education, work, social interaction, travel and retail.
37% of those already using headset are using it to view video according to the report
An extensive report from Ericsson, which surveyed early adopters in addition to 9,200 consumers in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, the UK and the US who were aware of VR, found that a lot of consumers believe the tech will change their day to day lives.
Of the wider sample of people aware of VR, six out 10 said they think the education, media and work domains will be changed fundamentally. Just slightly less than the early adopters.
Movie theatres, TVs, monitors, smartphones and classrooms were the areas most likely to benefit from the implementation of VR, claimed the sample. Of the people already using the headsets several times per week, 37% were using it to view video, 30% on gaming and even 22% managed social media experiences like Facebook spaces.
More than a quarter of early adopters believe that, within a year, they will exclusively watch movies on virtual screens, with more than half claiming video viewing will be the most popular activity.
While the research touches down with people who are likely already sold on, or informed about VR, it stands to help tackle the concerns of the mass consumers upon whom the technology has yet to break through to.
On the negative side, almost half of early adopters said restricted mobility, price, battery concerns, comfort, limited content, grainy visuals and data usage were their main concerns, in order of prominence.