The shipment for Google's digital media player Chromecast bests Apple TV, says global information company IHS.
Google launched the first-generation Chromecast in July 2013 and the streaming device attracted a large number of people who were interested in the idea of casting a browser window on TV at an affordable price. The company launched the second-gen Chromecast in September 2015 and it gave stiff competition to rivals.
"The new Chromecast has a fresh design, and is easier to plug into TVs with crowded ports. It supports the latest Wi-Fi standards and adapts more easily to changing Wi-Fi conditions in your home, so you get higher quality video with less buffering. Most importantly, we added two new colors," says Google.
Now, an IHS report suggests that the Google offering gained early momentum in the Q1 of this year. Google has sold 3.2 million Chromecast units in the quarter, which is nearly double compared to 1.7 million shipments of the Apple TV during the same period.
"We anticipate that this reversal will persist," said 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 global analysis firm added that Apple TV has a starting price of $149, which places the product in the segment's top-end. However, the Chromecast sells for only $35, which makes the device very affordable for customers who want to stream their computer, smartphone or tablet screen to a TV.
According to a Parks Associates report, Roku was the leading video streaming device in the U.S. followed by Chromecast and Apple TV in 2014.
"The research finds Roku is still the leading brand with 29% of sales, but Google Chromecast (20%) has supplanted Apple TV (17%) in second place," said the report.
According to a Forbes report, Google Chromecast had the biggest chunk of the digital media streamers market with 35 percent market share in the third quarter of 2015. Apple was on the second place with 20 percent share while Roku and Amazon Fire TV managed to grab 16 percent each of the market.
The sales figures of Google Chromecast is fairly large given that Amazon, one of the biggest online retailers in the world, does not offer Chromecast or Apple TV from its web stores. Google will be very happy with the sales of the Chromecast in the first quarter of 2016. The company will hope to achieve higher Chromecast sales in the remaining three quarters of the year.
