# Overview In 2018 several Augmented Reality technologies were introduced on the market. Technological giants such as Apple, Facebook, and Google made major investments and acquisitions increasingly aimed at implementing such technology with content devoted to the consumer market. According to a recent forecast published by IDC, the consumer industry will expand its position as the largest spender in AR and VR closely followed by Retail. This growth is also due to the fact that the smartphone market goes in such a direction that all the devices produced since 2018 fully support Augmented Reality. Also, the market related to smart glasses technologies is growing fast and many technology companies are investing to launch a powerful and affordable product on the market. According to IDC, the augmented reality market will reach $11 billion in 2020, while is expected to reach $137 billion by the end of 2024. Research highlights how the investments of the most important technological giants show how these companies have understood the enormous potential of Augmented Reality, not only as a technology, but as a new and powerful communication channel, able to convey any type of content and usable in any sector. ![Source: MarketWatch (https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prEUR146720420)](/files/m1CyASODCRgGu5L0F5SY) ![Source: google.com and openstreetmap.org](/files/kzMWmpZ3UzgBNGa9SFdl) --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.overthereality.ai/over-whitepaper/the-market/overview.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.