BEIJING - Sales of AR and VR products on the Chinese mainland surged 62 percent year-on-year to total 220,000 units in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, an industry report showed.

Led by domestic manufacturers like PicoVR, iQiyi and DPVR, VR gear sales rose 31 percent over the same period of last year, according to a report by research and consulting company CINNO Research.

Sales of consumer-grade AR products in Q1 was 17 times that of the same period last year, boosted by the growing popularity of AR glasses that can display projections from other screens, said the report.

This type of AR glasses enables a large-screen experience at any place and any time, and shipments will potentially increase as the technologies evolve, said the CINNO report.

The debut of Apple Inc's first mixed-reality headset Vision Pro is expected to spice up competition in the AR and VR market in 2023, the report revealed.