800 million smart TVs in 2017

By 2017, 31% of households worldwide will own a Smart TV, with much higher penetration in homes in North America (63%) and Western Europe (64%).

Según las previsiones de Informa Telecoms & Smart Media, en 2017 se venderán 221 millones de televisores inteligentes, lo que supone un incremento de más del 400% desde 2012. A finales de 2017 habrá más de 800 millones de televisores inteligentes en los hogares de todo el mundo. Un 31% de los hogares en todo el mundo poseerá un Smart TV, con una penetración mucho mayor en los hogares de América del Norte (63%) y Europa Occidental (64%).

But the reality behind these numbers is much less spectacular. Any smart TV purchased in 2012 would be obsolete by 2017. Additionally, while connection rates are increasing for smart TVs, the increase in gaming consoles and streaming media devices is even greater. So many of the 800 million smart TVs in homes in 2017 would be used in a very similar way to a traditional TV.

One of the problems that this study draws attention to is that a Smart TV purchased today, although valid for receiving OTT video streaming services, would lack the processing capacity and hardware to carry out the truly smart TV functions that would be standardized in 2015.

The short-term vision of many manufacturers for their Smart TV products will also be an obstacle to the deployment of this type of television. Examples abound of services launched exclusively for smart TVs this year, while users who purchased it a few months ago would have difficulty accessing new services.

A diferencia de los teléfonos inteligentes, la fragmentación de plataformas y estándares continúan marcando el mundo de los televisores inteligentes. Cada plataforma Smart TV exige el desarrollo a medida y, según Informa Telecoms & Smart Media, esta situación está beneficiando a los líderes del mercado Samsung y LG, que pueden atraer a los mejores servicios, debido a sus fuertes posiciones. Informa considera que que Google TV o Android llegarán a imponerse en el sistema operativo predeterminado para televisiones inteligentes.

On the other hand, if TVs are to be truly smart they should offer more than just OTT video services. In Informa's opinion, they should add advanced functions such as voice and motion control, advanced advertising, attractive user interfaces and two-way communication with smart devices (the second screens) allowing these devices to send video to the TV.

Finally, manufacturers should stop focusing on adding more content and improving how users can interact with content.