Apple TV trails behind Roku, other TV platforms in US device sales

The Apple TV ranked low in U.S. sales of streaming TV devices during the March quarter, leaving it nowhere near rivals like Roku or Sony, according to new estimates.

Apple's sales were around 13 million, Strategy Analytics indicated in a recent report. That put it ahead of devices with LG's webOS, but only by a small margin.

Leading the pack was Roku with sales of 41 million devices, or over 30% of the market. The company has had success not just with set-tops and sticks but partnerships with TV makers like TCL, which preload Roku OS.

The second most popular platform was Sony's PlayStation at around 30 million units, barely ahead of Microsoft's Xbox. Samsung (Tizen), Google (Android TV/Chromecast), Amazon (Fire TV), and Nintendo followed suit.

The reason for Apple's performance is uncertain, but an Apple TV 4K is one of the more expensive add-on options, starting at $179. Many people may also already own a smart TV, Xbox, or PlayStation, eliminating the need to buy Apple's hardware unless they want that specific platform and its apps.

Perhaps in recognition of the fact, Apple TV+ — launching this fall — will be available on TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio, as well as streamers by Roku and Amazon.

40 Comments

StrangeDays 12980 comments · 8 Years

About 5 years ago

Worshipping at the Church of Market Share is irrelevant. The value-add from the ATV is much more relevant to me as a happy ecosystem customer than the fact that other people are buying cheapie devices.

baka-dubbs 179 comments · 13 Years

So, most of these are platforms that are built into TV's(Roku and Fire TV OS are part of tv's and separate dongles) and streaming isn't the primary function for most Xbox and PS users, even if they are good at it. The better question is, who uses a freaking Nintendo Switch to watch videos??? I could see someone using it as a mobile screen(though most any phone sold today has a much higher quality screen than the switch), but come on, any other option above would be better in terms of app selection and quality.

mac-daddy 150 comments · 13 Years

The interface of Apple TV is solid, it's the damn remote I can't get used to. Way too simplistic.

eightzero 3148 comments · 14 Years

mac-daddy said:

The interface of Apple TV is solid, it's the damn remote I can't get used to. Way too simplistic.

Ayup. When I first got it, I thought I could tolerate the remote. I was wrong. I don't use my AppleTV hardly at all now because of it.

eightzero said:

mac-daddy said:

The interface of Apple TV is solid, it's the damn remote I can't get used to. Way too simplistic.

Ayup. When I first got it, I thought I could tolerate the remote. I was wrong. I don't use my AppleTV hardly at all now because of it.

I've gotten used to it, figuring out that I could tap the edges to move a single app/tile over saved me from snapping it in half as I scrolled past my desired location for the nth time. To give credit to aspects of its design, its small, rechargeable battery life is fantastic, its very tough(I have stepped on it, sat on it, dropped it, etc) with no apparent damage. It just needs more tactile inputs. I don't know how many times I picked it up in the dark and swiped on the non touchpad side. Have some form of tactile contour, a more tradition + input, or something like that. My only other major complaint is the keyboard layout in tvOS. I wish you could switch it to a QWERTY layout, having to scroll left and right for manual input(thanks Siri) is a PITA.