Connected CE and Platforms

Research firm notes Apple’s departure from audio jacks will spur wireless headset purchases

Parks Associates announced consumer research today showing that near the end of 2016, 23% of U.S. broadband households owned wireless earbuds and 16% owned wireless headphones. 360 View Update: Streaming Audio Devices notes that adoption of wireless audio devices showed no substantial growth from 2015-2016, but given Apple’s decision to forgo the audio jack on the iPhone 7 and iPhone ...read more

New report shows 56% of U.S. broadband households find it appealing to use voice assistance to control smart home devices

Parks Associates today announced new smart home research showing that the adoption rate of smart speakers with voice assistants grew from 5% of U.S. broadband households in Q4 2015 to 12% in Q4 2016. Voice Assistants and Technologies: Ecosystem and Market Leaders examines the growing market for these smart home devices and the impact of voice control as a ...read more

New industry snapshot shows 15% of consumers who try a VR headset buy one

A new market snapshot by Parks Associates reveals 50% of consumers who try a VR (virtual reality) headset enjoy it and make plans to purchase one, while 15% who try one enjoy the experience and then buy a headset.This research, from Consumer Strategies and Use Cases for Virtual and Augmented Reality, highlights the importance of personal experience in driving the success of virtual reality headset sale ...read more

Consumer research shows 73% of U.S. broadband households have at least one entertainment device connected to the Internet

A new industry report from Parks Associates finds that 73% of U.S. broadband households connect one or more in-home entertainment devices to the Internet, an increase of 11% from the beginning of 2015. Streaming Media Devices: Trends and Innovation examines this growing market, which includes smart TVs, gaming consoles, streaming media players, Blu-ray p ...read more

Success of Pokémon Go boosting awareness of VR and augmented reality products

New connected CE research from Parks Associates reveals that 8%, or 1.5 million, millennials plan to purchase a virtual reality (VR) headset in 2016, and not surprisingly, this segment is the most familiar with augmented reality (AR) technology. Connected CE & Services: Millennials, Gen Xers, and Baby Boomers shows that 4% of millennials (heads-of-household ages 18-34) own a VR headset, compared to ...read more

Brand attracts more CE buyers than price, quality, or features

New consumer research from Parks Associates reveals 71% of CE buyers in 2015 considered only one brand when making their purchase. According to 360 View: CE Adoption & Trends, price and product quality are important factors, as 15% of CE buyers considered only one brand due to price and 10% considered only one brand due to product quality, but brand itself was the dominant factor in these noncompetitive purchase ...read more

Tablet adoption continues to increase, reaching 72% of U.S. broadband households in Q1 2016

New consumer research from Parks Associates finds a continued decline in the adoption rate for desktop computers. 360 View: CE Adoption & Trends reveals that since 2009, nearly one-third of U.S. broadband households have abandoned desktops as a platform. Only 6% of U.S. broadband households rely exclusively on desktops, while an additional 6% of households use only a combination of de ...read more

26% of U.S. broadband households have privacy and security concerns when using connected CE devices

A new Parks Associates whitepaper, sponsored by Verimatrix, reveals approximately one-fourth of U.S. broadband households are concerned about their privacy and security when using connected CE devices. The complimentary whitepaper, Securing the Integrity of Video Analytics Data, notes that video service operators, under pressure to provide a personalized experience to viewers, ...read more