For all its early momentum, Chromecast had been unable to out ship the Apple TV. This finally changed during the first quarter of 2016 with Apple TV shipping 1.7 million units compared to Google pushing 3.2 million Chromecasts to market, according to the Connected Device Market Monitor. from the IHS research group.
“We anticipate that this reversal will persist,” says Merrick Kingston, principal analyst-connected home, at IHS Technology. “Since the introduction of the fourth-generation Apple TV, Apple and Google have pursued vastly different strategies.”
The Apple TV, starting at $149, has inexorably been shuttled into the segment’s top end, he says. The device is now positioned as a premium hub that appeals to consumers of digital video, to casual gamers and to iOS owners who are intrinsically attracted to Apple’s singular user-interface.
Kingston says that Chromecast, at $35, “is a veritable bargain, naturally complements portable Android devices and offers a no-frills casting experience that obviates the very need for a user-interface.”
