One more indication that Apple needs to get off of its dead ass and debut a new Apple TV this fall: Research released on Thursday shows sales of the aging set-top streaming box continue to slide, with the device slipping to fourth place in sales during 2014.
Market research firm Parks Associates in a report covering the U.S. streaming device market said Apple TV sales were overshadowed by strong performances from Roku, Google and Amazon.
Roku was the leader with 34% of all units sold in 2014, while Google grabbed second place with 23% over the same period. Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire TV Stick grabbed third place from the Apple TV, which slid to fourth. The top four set-top box makers sold a combined 86% of all units sold in 2014.
It should be noted that while Apple makes only one set-top box, the other companies manufacture a number of different models, although in Amazon’s case that is only 2 SKUs.
Apple TV also lagged in ongoing usage figures: “Device shipments and sales receipts are important performance measures, but an equally critical metric for device makers is ongoing usage,” said Barbara Kraus, Director of Research, Parks Associates. “Usage will drive alternate revenue streams such as content sales and advertising. Roku devices are the most used among U.S. broadband households that own a streaming media device at 37%, followed by Google Chromecast at 19%, Apple TV at 17%, and Amazon Fire TV devices at 14%.”
As streaming video and music services continued to gain momentum in the U.S., around 20% of all broadband-enabled households now own at least one streaming device. Eight percent of those households owned at least one stick-type device, such as the Google Chromecast, and the Amazon Fire TV Stick.
Apple is expected to release a new Apple TV model later this year, and its expected touchpad remote, faster processor, increased storage, App Store, and Siri support should go a long way toward putting Apple’s set-top streamer back into the race.
