New data released by research firm Strategy Analytics predicts that Apple will sell around four million Apple TV units by the end of 2011, giving them a 32% share of the year’s set-top box market.
Apple is leading this nascent market, which it still considers a ‘hobby’. As Apple prepares for its expected launch of smart TVs in 2012, rival platforms must accelerate their development plans to keep Apple from running away with the connected TV business, as it has done in smartphones and digital music.
Although Apple has claimed that the Apple TV is merely a hobby, and it doesn’t achieve sales numbers as impressive as Macs, iPhones and iPads, the device is still a leader in the “connected TV player” market, despite its lack of an app market.
According to Strategy Analytics’ report, global sales of set-top boxes will more than double from last year, with around 12 million total units having been sold.
Also interesting about the report is that it reveals that Apple TV users rent significantly more movies and TV shows compared to other set-top boxes.
