Zheng Quan Shi Bao·2025-08-25 18:16Core Insights - The mixed reality (MR) market is still in its early stages, with various smartphone manufacturers like vivo, Honor, Xiaomi, Huawei, and OPPO entering the space, reflecting a broader industry anxiety about growth opportunities beyond traditional smartphone sales [1][2][4] - Vivo has launched its first MR headset, the vivo Vision Exploration Edition, which is currently the lightest MR headset on the market at 398g, but it has not yet disclosed pricing [2][3] - Apple's Vision Pro headset, launched in 2024, initially saw high demand but faced challenges due to high pricing and a lack of ecosystem, leading to disappointing sales figures of less than 500,000 units by the end of 2024 [2][3] Market Trends - The retail volume of China's consumer-grade XR devices, including VR, MR, and AR, reached 307,000 units in the first half of 2025, marking a 17.6% year-on-year increase, while the VR/MR segment saw a decline of 25.6% [3] - Analysts attribute the decline in VR device sales to a "content drought," with most products focusing on entertainment without compelling applications for broader audiences [3] - The global VR/MR shipment is expected to reach 5.6 million units by 2025, potentially growing to 14.4 million units by 2030 [4] Industry Dynamics - Smartphone manufacturers are leveraging their supply chain advantages and experience in hardware-software integration to enter the MR market, which is seen as a way to expand business boundaries amid a saturated smartphone market [4][5] - The demand for immersive and interactive experiences is increasing, with MR applications expected to grow in sectors like education, healthcare, entertainment, and industry [5] - The shift towards MR is viewed as a response to "second curve" anxiety, as hardware sales plateau, prompting companies to explore new growth avenues [5][6] Technological Challenges - Experts highlight several bottlenecks in the MR and robotics integration, including the need for high-performance sensors, real-time data processing, low-latency communication, and mature AI algorithms [6][7] - MR technology is seen as a crucial interface for robotic control, providing enhanced environmental perception and interaction capabilities [6][7] - Companies venturing into robotics from the MR space must overcome challenges related to supply chain reliability, real-world data collection, and system integration [7]