One of the first mainstream devices of its kind, Apple TV is a big seller worldwide. Apple has sold 25 million of the boxes in its lifetime, Chief Executive Tim Cook said in March. That beats Roku's 10 million total sold as of last year. Neither Google nor Amazon has released stats for their streaming devices, Chromecast and Fire TV, respectively.
However, Apple TV has been slipping. Last year, its US sales fell to fourth place behind Roku, Chromecast and Fire TV, according to estimates from market researcher Parks Associates. Strategy Analytics, another market researcher, similarly notes that for the first time, Apple sold fewer Apple TVs in the second quarter than it had a year earlier.
Last year, Parks Associates reported an even smaller percentage of streaming-media device owners who use voice controls, putting the number at about 4 percent. Barbara Kraus, director of research at the firm, noted that gaming consoles, not streaming-media devices, are the natural place for spoken commands to break out because video games are more interactive compared with the passive act of watching TV.
From the article "The next Apple TV puts company in rare role: Playing catch-up" by Joan E. Solsman.
New Parks Associates research shows the importance of brand preference in consumer electronics purchase decisions, revealing that 71 per cent of buyers last year considered only one brand when making...
In its fourth quarter earnings release, WWE reported 1.22 million paid network subscribers, a nearly 50% increase from the same period last year. The company noted that WWE Network hit an all-time hig...
The smart home devices sold by Google's home automation subsidiary, Nest, represent just a small fraction of the burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) market. However, Nest has become one of the most re...
Comcast’s senior executive Sridhar Solur will provide the opening keynote: “Humanizing Connected Home Experiences: Using Machine Learning and Voice Control” at the 21st-annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premie...