Households. Maybe there are more households with multiple AppleTVs than there are households with multiple Rokus. Put another way, there are more single-device households using Roku than AppleTV.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Sold 2 Million Apple TVs Last Year in US, Trailing Behind Chromecast and Roku
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
And other way, people who buy an Apple TV, are more likely to buy another one.
That was kinda snotty. I'm sorry. Your point is valid.
I purchased the original Apple TV 1st generation device, as well as 3 Apple TV 2 devices on their respective 2007 and 2010 launch days. Over the years I purchased a lot of video content from the iTunes store including many entire TV seasons.
Several years ago I stopped purchasing video and iBook content from iTunes as I decided that I no longer wanted my media to be trapped in Apple's walled garden. I now only purchase media from stores such as Amazon and Google, as it can be consumed on both my iOS and Android devices. My view is that I can play my DVDs on players by different manufacturers, and I wish to keep it that way with my digital content.
I can't remember the last time I used one of my Apple TVs. Apple TV is too closed. Perhaps they want to keep Amazon off the Apple TV, but who knows. AirPlay mirroring doesn't cut it for me. Until Apple opens it up, I won't ever be purchasing another one. My money will go to Chromecast and Roku devices as they are more open, and they also support Plex.
-ITG
Several years ago I stopped purchasing video and iBook content from iTunes as I decided that I no longer wanted my media to be trapped in Apple's walled garden. I now only purchase media from stores such as Amazon and Google, as it can be consumed on both my iOS and Android devices. My view is that I can play my DVDs on players by different manufacturers, and I wish to keep it that way with my digital content.
I can't remember the last time I used one of my Apple TVs. Apple TV is too closed. Perhaps they want to keep Amazon off the Apple TV, but who knows. AirPlay mirroring doesn't cut it for me. Until Apple opens it up, I won't ever be purchasing another one. My money will go to Chromecast and Roku devices as they are more open, and they also support Plex.
-ITG
Last edited:
Easy. You are looking at the worldwide numbers and this article is only about the US sales for last year. ATV is available in more countries worldwide so it's numbers are bigger worldwide. Roku has limited sales worldwide and most of it's sales are US based.
I have 3 Chromecasts, a Roku, and an Amazon Fire. Chromecast and Roku are used constantly. I bought the AF on a whim when it was introduced. It's okay but, like the ATV, it's tied to a particular ecosystem. I've reboxed it so that I can gift it at one of the many Christmas parties later this year.
For $35 the Chromecast is one of the better tech investments I've made.
----------
Do you realize this makes absolutely no sense?
Why are people suprised Roku is #1?
If you would use a Roku 3 you would know why. I own both and rarely use my apple tv. air play thats it.
roku can also show pics from your ipad or iphone to the tv. Movies too. Almost idencial to airplay. It cant how ever stream from your iphone or ipad.
The content on Roku is 10x that of Apple TV. Maybe more than that. It literally has everything you can think of and more. Literally everything. apple tv does not. Neither does chrome cast.
Roku also has a headphone jack built into the remote. The remote is leagues better Apples joke of a remote.
The UI is something Apple should own and do better than anyone. Iphone check. Ipad check. Mac check..........apple tv. no
The ui is horrible. Litterally. Painfull to use after using a Roku. The UI on a roku is something you would expect apple to make.
Universal search. Check. Super fast. Check. Short and quick navigation. Check. Able to move app icons to your liking. Check. Able to use different apps. Check.
What is sad is that is much more than that.
Roku is so far ahead of everybody apple would have to release something. Very similar to compete. What people are wishing for a Apple tv to have on this thread dont realize Roku already has these features and than some.
Apple doesnt make the best everything. I own apple everything. Use them to run my business.
But when it comes to a streaming device. Roku is the best. By a wide margin.
If you would use a Roku 3 you would know why. I own both and rarely use my apple tv. air play thats it.
roku can also show pics from your ipad or iphone to the tv. Movies too. Almost idencial to airplay. It cant how ever stream from your iphone or ipad.
The content on Roku is 10x that of Apple TV. Maybe more than that. It literally has everything you can think of and more. Literally everything. apple tv does not. Neither does chrome cast.
Roku also has a headphone jack built into the remote. The remote is leagues better Apples joke of a remote.
The UI is something Apple should own and do better than anyone. Iphone check. Ipad check. Mac check..........apple tv. no
The ui is horrible. Litterally. Painfull to use after using a Roku. The UI on a roku is something you would expect apple to make.
Universal search. Check. Super fast. Check. Short and quick navigation. Check. Able to move app icons to your liking. Check. Able to use different apps. Check.
What is sad is that is much more than that.
Roku is so far ahead of everybody apple would have to release something. Very similar to compete. What people are wishing for a Apple tv to have on this thread dont realize Roku already has these features and than some.
Apple doesnt make the best everything. I own apple everything. Use them to run my business.
But when it comes to a streaming device. Roku is the best. By a wide margin.
They should just rename it the Apple Netflix and have done.
I love mine but it's all it get used for really. YouTube, Vevo and the radio are also handy but they aren't killer apps. Every other app on there just gets hidden for the simple fact that I can't afford to pay monthly subscriptions on so many different services, it's just not practical or economical.
Really Apple should be working harder with the networks internationally to try and make it a device which can allow terrestrial input with some added benefits.
An appstore with game controller support would also be fantastic.
I love mine but it's all it get used for really. YouTube, Vevo and the radio are also handy but they aren't killer apps. Every other app on there just gets hidden for the simple fact that I can't afford to pay monthly subscriptions on so many different services, it's just not practical or economical.
Really Apple should be working harder with the networks internationally to try and make it a device which can allow terrestrial input with some added benefits.
An appstore with game controller support would also be fantastic.
I have an apple TV 2 and don't use it.
I tried getting the kids to use it but our TV is a smart TV and does what they want.
I guess I should JB it or sell it. I'll have to figure out what I can do with it. I don't buy movies or music(not much anyway) from iTunes. I do buy games though.
Not sure why I bought it in the first place. LOL
I tried getting the kids to use it but our TV is a smart TV and does what they want.
I guess I should JB it or sell it. I'll have to figure out what I can do with it. I don't buy movies or music(not much anyway) from iTunes. I do buy games though.
Not sure why I bought it in the first place.
LOLI suspect that ATV4 will come with an App Store. Probably with ATV3 compatibility.
They are gearing games that way it seems. iPhone/iPad as second screen and controllers and the MFi Controllers.
It can be the hub for all the upcoming home automation Kit stuff too.
The App Store / ATV could all be controlled from an iDevice too - would make it a lot easier to navigate.
They are gearing games that way it seems. iPhone/iPad as second screen and controllers and the MFi Controllers.
It can be the hub for all the upcoming home automation Kit stuff too.
The App Store / ATV could all be controlled from an iDevice too - would make it a lot easier to navigate.
One word: Steve
Btw, I felt the same when I read the article. Almost 3 times as many per the article. To me it sounds like the survey was flawed.
But back to the other question at hand. If you go back to The start of ITunes Steve Adamantly wanted it to be strictly on the Mac. He then relented. But, I have a feeling he felt the same way about Apple TV and kept things tied strictly to the Apple ITunes Ecosystem.
Then you have the hardware limitations. In order to open up the App ecosystem you also needed a powerful processor. Especially if you wanted to open it up to gaming. Yes Apple had airplay, but this relied on WiFi connections and a lower powered processor which created lag. It is a great feature and one that had no rival. I believe chromecast's original functionality was not the same, in the the device streamed to chromecast's but rather choosing the content has chromecast's itself go out and stream it off the net. Not sure about the new screen cast tech. But, how much memory, processing power, storage can you put in a single that attaches to the HDMI port on a TV?
If you use the Keynote as a guide you can see where things are/could be headed for Apple TV.
Direct connections via Bluetooth LE and Wifi adhoc, solves config and many latency issues. This also solves the hotel wifi problem and makes setup dead simple. The tap to setup was the initial step.
The 64bit processor adds another key element. As does Metal and other software enhancements announced this year. If a new ATV is released this year, it then would be a power horse. One that leap frogs Amazons intentions and then leaves chromecast's to being just another TV/movie streaming device. Then there is the likely possibility of handoff/continuity support, which would trump airplay. Oh don't forget the new icloud drive. That too can be supported. You then can have access to any media you want to store there, including movies. You can see that the current Apple has also loosened up by allowing you to access more than iTunes from a non Mac environment. icloud is getting this treatment as well. Speaking of Icloud and iTunes, Apple also needed to get data centers up and running as well as establishing a back end that could support more than just streaming iTunes content. We are now seeing this come to fruition in iOS8 and Yosemite. Oh and I also believe that Apps can be built now with resolution independence. So thing should look as good no matter how small or large the screen.
Apple is in the business of selling hardware. That is where there profits are made. In order to make that happen they need to keep the developers happy. While WWDC gave allot for for them to be happy and excited, I think the "One More Thing" will be new hardware devices and a new frontier for development in the fall. Apple doesn't care if you use your own content or use content via apps from another source. If they did you wouldn't have any of those options on an iPhone or iPad. Nor would you have Netflix or any other content but iTunes on the ATV. I think this year the stars have aligned from both a hardware and software perspective that will allow A new ATV to emerge. It may not have Steve's full vision but will now be in a position to easily provide the complete experience once the content is acquired to meet that vision.
Universal search is not true. It won't for example search my plex library or find a film on some other channel
As for content. Depends where you are Amazon TV / Lovefilm is NOT available in the UK - Netflix is rubbish in the uk. And the there is a LOT of rubbish on there.
Roku does have apps but they are slooooooow. Atv3 is much more powerful but they are not taking advantage of it.
As for the UI - Roku interface is... a few boxes. Everything else is up to the app designer. Personally I much prefer Apples UI... BUT still too limited.
I'm surprised Apple sold 2 million of the Apple TV. It's a 2 year old product that really hasn't been upgraded much over the previous gen Apple TV.
It was buried in the iPod section for most of its product life. Has had no advertisement to boost presence to the general public. Yet the damn thing still sells..... Which other Apple product do you know has done this?
I am curious why the Fire TV sales numbers weren't included.
It was buried in the iPod section for most of its product life. Has had no advertisement to boost presence to the general public. Yet the damn thing still sells..... Which other Apple product do you know has done this?
I am curious why the Fire TV sales numbers weren't included.
I own a chromecast and an AppleTV (silver) and an appleTV2 of those I like the AppleTV's the best but I wokd guess folks are holding out for a new AppleTV In both hardware and software.
Once Apple releases an AppleTV with a little more horse power and an App Store (or at least that is "unofficially" jailbreakable) then I would expect to see AppleTV selling much better.
Once Apple releases an AppleTV with a little more horse power and an App Store (or at least that is "unofficially" jailbreakable) then I would expect to see AppleTV selling much better.
I still don't understand the arrogance of some people here and why some cannot see beyond just apple products.
The roku 3 when paired with the plex media server, and any other streaming services such as netflix, hulu, and amazon prime make it one kick ass box. Plus, with the remote being a wifi connection you can put the box anywhere and never have to see it.
The roku 3 when paired with the plex media server, and any other streaming services such as netflix, hulu, and amazon prime make it one kick ass box. Plus, with the remote being a wifi connection you can put the box anywhere and never have to see it.
I have two Apple TV 2's (one is jailbroken) and a Roku 3 and I barely use my Roku. I agree there is much more available for it, but I mostly use Netflix and Hulu. I wish there was an App store for the ATV platform because I can only imagine the possibilities. The main reason I prefer ATV over Roku is the interface and ease of use, but I wish it had options more like the Roku. My jailbroken ATV I use to watch movies saved on my server, mostly ISO files of my DVDs.
Confusing stats. Apple's sold 2.5 times more units than Roku, but Roku is used in 50% more households?
Two explanations come to mind: Many millions of AppleTVs are sitting unused; or one or both of the stats are wrong.
One thing is certain about Apple. For such a massive, profitable company they're just ungodly slow in updating their hardware. Apple TV especially. I would of purchased one years ago, but it's so limited right now, that to justify one over something like a Chromecast isn't an option.
Or there are a lot more households with only one Roku.
If 80,000 households have an average of 3 AppleTVs, and 120,000 households have one Roku on average, that would be 50% more households with a Roku, but twice as many AppleTVs sold.