More American consumers purchased a Samsung smart TV set than any other brand last year, according to new research released by Parks Associates on Monday.
The research followed a press preview event held by Samsung at the Consumer Electronics Show last weekend, during which the company unveiled a new line of mini-LED television sets and its first-ever transparent micro-LED screens, among other products.
Samsung has long been one of the more-popular smart TV brands in the United States, and Parks Associates revealed around 35 percent of new TV purchases were connected to Samsung’s Tizen operating system.
LG’s WebOS clocked in as the third most-popular, followed by Vizio’s SmartCast platform, according to Parks Associates research. Roku TV was fourth, followed by Android TV and Amazon Fire TV. The research was based on consumer surveys.
“Leaders in the smart-TV category are those who are hardware manufacturers, smart TV platform owner/developers, and owners of viewership data; this allows complete control over the user experience,” said Parks Associates research analyst Sarah Lee. “It is no coincidence that Samsung is the most popular smart-TV brand, given their wide range of products, large app library, and emphasis on ease of use. “Together, LG (Web OS), SmartCast (VIZIO), and Roku TV OS account for about the same share as Samsung, but these and other options are likely to become more competitive in the coming years.”
The standing of each smart TV platform is incredibly important, given the trend of cord-cutting — the practice of moving away from cable and satellite for streaming options — among American TV viewers.
While dongles, pucks and sticks were the earliest ways of helping TV viewers make the switch from cable to streaming, most TVs sold on the market today contain their own built-in streaming interface, complete with dozens — and, in some cases, hundreds — of audio and video apps from popular services like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon’s Prime Video, Disney Plus, Hulu, Sling TV and others.
Fifty-five percent of households prefer using their TV’s built-in streaming platform, according to Parks Associates, while around a third of households prefer to use a standalone streaming device connected to their TV.
“Smart TVs are the primary device that households choose to consume video, so they are in a prime position to function as a key interface for all systems in the home, from entertainment to security to energy management,” Elizabeth Parks, the President and Chief Marketing Officer at Parks Associates, said in a statement. “Samsung’s emphasis on services and its ability to diversify its products put the company in a good position to be a leader in multiple connected home categories.”
Parks Associates will discuss Samsung’s connected home strategy, including its home automation, voice control and SmartThings smart appliances, during Connections Summit at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 9.
