Amazon announced at CES this week that its Fire TV platform now has more than 40 million active users. That eclipses Roku, keeping it as the most popular streaming platform.
When it last announced its numbers, Fire TV was ahead of Roku, but only by about five million. Now, with Fire TV at over 40 million and Roku at 32.3 million, that gives Amazon a bit more of a cushion to stay at number one.
These „active” users are those that have used Fire TV within the past 30 days. Both Amazon and Roku note that these do not include those that share accounts either. So the actual number of users could be much higher.
How did Amazon pass Roku to be number one?
Roku sells a bunch of different products, many of which are dirt cheap. Making it easy for Roku to get into more homes. Some of its HDMI streaming sticks cost under $20. So how exactly did Amazon surpass Roku?
It’s easy. Amazon has been discounting the Fire TV Stick pretty aggressively, and also bundling it with other products in recent years. Particularly around the holiday season. So essentially the same way Alexa has become number one, Fire TV has also become number one. By almost giving away these products.
Many still prefer Roku though. And that’s because it has a lot more apps and channels available. It’s also easier to use, with a super simple interface. Roku also has its own channel that has a ton of movies and TV shows for free. While Amazon has its own streaming service, but it’s part of Prime. Now most people do have Prime, but for those that don’t, it would cost you $12.99 per month for that service.
You might be wondering where Android TV and Apple TV is in this race. Well, they are pretty far back. Seeing as neither company really releases those numbers, it’s safe to say they are nowhere near Roku or Fire TV.
New Fire TV Edition coming later this year
Along with the announcement from Amazon that it now has 40 million active users, it also announced that there will be a new Fire TV Edition coming later this year.
This new Fire TV Edition would be capable of powering sound bars, as well as being integrated into vehicles. Which is what we heard earlier this week at CES. When it comes to vehicles, Amazon wants Fire TV to power those seatback TVs in many minivans and SUVs on the market.
You can also expect Fire TV to work with even more partners this year, including a newcomer in TCL.
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Source: ndroidheadlines.com