CES 2016: VR, Ultra HD to boost tech industry


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Michelle Clancy

| 07 January 2016




The ever-expanding adoption and continued growth of innovations like virtual reality and 4K will help lead the US consumer technology industry to a record-setting $287 billion in retail revenues in 2016, according to research from the US Consumer Technology Association



Of that figure, $224 billion will be wholesale sales, while virtual reality (VR) will start to be a trend. With several notable VR headsets coming to market in 2016, CTA expects unit sales to increase by 500% over last year, to reach 1.2 million units sold. Total revenues are projected to reach $540 million, a 440% increase.

“2016 will be another great year for consumers. As more products become connected, we’ll be able to manage our lives in ways that weren’t possible even just a few years ago,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA.

“The exponential growth of the IoT and the lightning-fast speed of innovation are key reasons we’ll see such strong growth across so many tech categories. Highly sophisticated technology is becoming more affordable and accessible – improving our safety, productivity and entertainment.”

In video, smart TVs are projected to sell 27 million units in 2016, a 13% increase over 2015, and streaming media players will sell 15.8 million units (a 5% increase). And, CTA said that 2016 will be a phenomenal year for 4K/Ultra HD TVs – driven in part by the market introduction of next-generation technologies – with shipments of 4K UHD displays projected to reach 13 million units (an 83% increase). CTA expects revenue from 4K UHD displays in 2016 to top $10 billion, marking a 65% increase.

But, despite a projected 65% increase in revenue for Ultra HD TVs in 2016, CTA expects revenue for the overall TV market to not increase this year. After a banner year of sales growth in 2015 that saw LCD TV shipments climb 10% to top 39 million units, the TV market should reach a steady state in 2016. CTA projects revenues will reach $19 billion for all TV sets and displays in 2016, on par with 2015, as volumes drop 1% to just under 40 million units.

“Aggressive competition, longer product replacement cycles and disruptive innovation replacing legacy products create financial challenges for segments of our industry,” noted Shapiro. “However, we believe newer categories, continuing innovation and improving economic conditions provide additional cause for industry optimism.”

“We are at a time when new tech categories can come out of seemingly nowhere and lead to disruption in the blink of an eye,” added Shawn DuBravac, chief economist and senior director of research, CTA. “Digitisation is rapidly changing the landscape of our daily lives, and consumers are clearly choosing to infuse tech in all facets of their lives. As economic fundamentals improve – a strengthened labour market, solid consumer spending, lower energy prices – the tech industry’s bottom line will continue to surpass record unit and revenue levels in 2016.”

Broadcast players are starting to embrace VR: in November, UK pay-TV giant Sky produced, in collaboration with Jaunt, its first virtual reality (VR) news report. Jaunt has a reputation for cinematic virtual reality, and Sky News’ Migrants Crisis – The Whole Picture report the report was filmed using its new Jaunt ONE, its professional grade VR camera.