Android TV and Google TV, both running on the Android TV OS, have hit 150 million active devices according to new numbers provided by Google in the just concluded CES 2023 convention. This is an increase of 40 million devices from the 110 million active devices that were announced 12 months ago in the same event.
Central to the increase in the number of devices running Android TV OS is the affordable Google Chromecast and TCL-manufactured TVs running Android TV OS out of the box. In the past years, TCL used to ship TVs running Roku OS.
Unlike the smartphone space where Android and iOS are runaway leaders in terms of market share, the smart TV market is more crowded with lots of options for consumers. Apple have Apple TV, Samsung and LG have Tizen and WebOS respectively, Roku has the Roku OS while Amazon has the Amazon Fire TV Stick that is built on Android. Furthermore, there are still a few other lesser-known options like the Walmart Onn that run on Android.
Google does not break down the 150 million figure, therefore it is not possible to tell whether Android TV or Google TV has the bigger share. In addition, since the provided figure refers to active devices, and there are bound to be people owning more than one TV running Android TV OS, the number provided by the tech giant does not automatically convert to 150 million people.
Despite this, it is an incredible feat getting 150 million active devices in an overcrowded scene, and the tech giant has even bigger plans for the year, “We’ve got new Google TV devices launching this year including the TCL Q-Series TV and the Hisense ULED TVs, Laser TVs and Laser Cinema lineups” a Google spokesperson explained.
As the competition heats up, the competing companies are going further than just developing streaming sticks running their OS. Amazon has already launched their own Fire TV smart TVs, while Roku has announced that the first Roku branded TVs will be released later in the year for the US market.
Google on the other hand has not announced whether it will be developing its own branded TVs. The company’s main aim at the moment appears to be ensuring the majority of their users move over from the older Android TV platform to the revamped Google TV, which is more refined and offers better integration.
