Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Why is Apple customers' appetite for its products insatiable?

Besides new phones, Apple is expected to significantly upgrade its Apple TV set-top box, which has barely changed since it went on sale in March 2012. The key difference in the new one, expected to cost about $149, will be voice-activated searching (using Siri) and control across multiple sources of content such as Netflix and iTunes, plus the App Store allied to a motion-sensitive controller, rather like Nintendo’s Wii.

The changes look timely, if not overdue. Apple TV is outsold by challengers including Amazon and Google, according to market research firm Parks Associates. Amazon’s Fire TV set-top box already has a voice-controlled interface, and Google’s Chromecast plug-in stick can be used to ‘cast’ content directly from a computer or phone to the TV. But there is plenty of room for growth, as only 20% of US households with broadband have a streaming device, the report found.

The refreshed Apple TV could also add the capability to play games and other apps. With gaming already a huge pursuit on smartphones, the prospect of it on a TV is exciting to iPhone developers, who for years have been wishing for a new Apple platform for apps. 

From the article "Why is Apple customers' appetite for its products insatiable?" by Charles Arthur.

Previously In The News

Here's The Top Ten Most Popular Streaming Services This Year

"Importantly, all of these services have increased their subscriber base over the past year. The top five OTT services have stayed consistent, primarily through maintaining or growing the massive user...

Humanizing Connected Home Experiences: Using Machine Learning and Voice Control

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...

BMW’s Connected Future Vision Getting Closer

Parks Associates, a market intelligence firm, claims that while connectivity is still in its infancy, it is moving along rather quickly. “We’re moving past the early adopter phase of connected cars,”...

Alert! Will the Cable Eco-System Begin To Crash Tomorrow?

And, oh yeah, there are already quite a number of STBs that allow for streaming content that includes programming from so-called broadcast and cable networks as well as the major streaming services su...