By 2022, there will be over 9 billion augmented and mixed reality apps, according to Juniper Research, including $2.3 billion worth of smartphone AR games.

Augmented reality is a relatively young space; Pokemon Go blew up, but there are not yet any major consumer headsets that seamlessly blend the physical and digital words. Microsoft's HoloLens is still just a pricey enterprise tool, while the much-touted Magic Leap system has yet to leap into the hands of real users.

However, Apple and Google are making a big push to leverage smartphones as AR viewing devices, spurring increasingly sophisticated experiences. These can include persistent objects that multiple people can view and interact with from multiple perspectives, at least when peering through their phones or tablets.

Juniper sees significant upside in mixed reality, which are apps that span the spectrum of AR and VR. Four years hence, the UK-based analyst firm expects there to be more than enough applications developed to cover everyone on the planet. Indeed, such apps are expected to be distributed broadly, with the Far East region, led by China, expected to account for the largest share and India and surrounding areas coming in at No. 2. North America should come in at No. 3, followed by the Middle East and Africa and Western Europe.