Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

3 Upgrades to See on the Next Apple TV

We've been saying for more than a year that Apple TV is due for a major makeover; compared to competitors such as Roku, Chromecast, and Amazon Fire TV, the streaming media player is clearly dated—the last refresh appeared in 2013. Apple fans need not worry, though. It sounds like that overhaul will finally arrive in about two weeks, in the form of a fresher look, a new operating system, and some enhanced features.

The timing—linked to the Sept. 9 press event for the new iPhone 6—couldn't be better. A survey released last week by market research firm Parks Associates has revealed that, based on 2014 sales, Apple has slipped to number four in the streaming media player market, trailing not only Roku and Chromecast, but also Amazon Fire TV.

From the article "3 Upgrades to See on the Next Apple TV" by James K. Willcox.

Previously In The News

Merger For New Media Era Or A Bad Remake?

Pay-TV operators are seeing a "slow erosion of the core business," analyst Brett Sappington at Parks Associates said. "After years of attempts to be more than just a 'dumb pipe,' pay-TV operators h...

Has The Smart Home Found A New Voice?

"Over 70% of voice-recognition users are satisfied with the experience of using this solution on their smartphones, which is driving experimentation with this functionality on other platforms, includi...

Sony Goes All In on PlayStation

Sony hasn’t had much to cheer about over the past decade. Samsung and Apple crushed its smartphones, and even its TV business was eclipsed by rivals from China and South Korea. So forgive the proud ho...

For Cord Cutters, AT&T’s New Virtual Cable Service An Unlikely Solution

Each is a decent enough product, but they’ve generated hardly any interest from consumers. Research firm Parks Associates estimated in October that after 18 months, Sling TV had signed up only 1 milli...