Google launched the first Chromecast a little over four years ago. Since then, the company has sold more than 55 million units, it was announced.
Accelerating sales
About a year ago, Google announced that it had sold 30 million Chromecasts, and the company has now passed 55 million, said Rick Osterloh, chief of hardware at Google. The number includes both dongles and Chromecasts built into TVs.
In other words, sales of Chromecast, which enables the user to enter a world of streaming services, are accelerating.
It is difficult to compare the number to other streaming devices since few companies release sales numbers. Analyst company Strategy Analytics in March 2016 estimated total sales of 37 million Apple TVs, 27m Chromecasts (dongles only), 20m Roku players, and 10m Amazon Fire TV players.
Streaming of TV content and movies continues to gain popularity. During this transition major US-based companies are hoping to enter the TV industry.
Chromecast has become so popular that voices in the industry have questioned whether we need apps on the TV screen. Google has answered the question by launching a major initiative with ’Android TV’, which is a full TV operating system. Amazon, Apple, Roku, and others are also building TV operating systems.
The original Chromecast was introduced in the summer of 2013. Google has later launched three new versions, including the Chromecast Audio for music and Chromecast Ultra that supports 4K and HDR.
