Global shipments of XR headwear declined 38.7% year-on-year to 1.9 million units in the first half of 2026, according to the latest data from Omdia.
While XR glasses are gaining traction, their growth from a small base was insufficient to counter a steep drop in XR headset shipments, according to the research group. By 2025, the market had recorded its fourth consecutive year of decline following the pandemic-induced peak in 2021.
In the first half of 226, XR glasses expanded their share of total shipments to 25.8% – up from 10.2% in the first half of 2025. Tethered display glasses drove almost all of this growth, with RayNeo, VITURE, and XREAL collectively capturing 93.1% of the tethered display glasses segment.
Strong demand for devices such as the RayNeo Air 4 and VITURE Beast series propelled RayNeo and VITURE into second and third place, respectively, in the overall XR headwear market, with shares of 9.9% and 8.6%.
“XR glasses are gaining momentum because consumers are increasingly willing to trade some immersion for less friction,” said Qiran Ju, Senior Analyst at Omdia. “Lighter designs and familiar use cases such as video viewing and gaming are lowering the barriers to adoption.”
Meta, meanwhile, retained the overall market lead despite its share dropping sharply from 71.3% in the first half of 2025 to 48.2% in the first half of 2026, as demand for the Meta Quest 3 and 3S continued to weaken.
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Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today
