In the first three quarters of 2014, the Google Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV made stunning gains in sales activity versus the market-leading Roku and the No. 2 device from 2012 and 2013, the Apple TV, according to a study that made the rounds this week.
Roku snapped up 29 percent of sales (down from 46 percent in 2013), while Google Chromecast rose to claim 20 percent of device sales, edging past the Apple TV sales share of 17 percent (down from 26 percent), Parks Associates reported. The Amazon Fire TV, which didn't even appear until April, is already in fourth place, with 10 percent of sales.
"Nearly 50 percent of video content that U.S. consumers watch on a TV set is non-linear, up from 38 percent in 2010, and it is already the majority for people 18-44," noted Barbara Kraus, director of research for Parks.
"The market is changing rapidly to account for these new digital media habits. Roku now offers a streaming stick, and Amazon's Fire TV streaming stick leaves Apple as the only top player without a stick product in the streaming media device category," she observed.
From the article "Apple Doesn't Need No Stinking Streaming Media Stick!" by Chris Maxcer.
