TCL says it sells 10M+ TVs with Android TV and Google TV each year; in May 2021, Google said 80M+ accounts were using Android TV OS
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google : Tweets: @lukebk and @scottporch Tweets: Luke Bouma / @lukebk : WOW 10M+ Google/Android TVs sold! Likely mostly outside of the US. I wonder how many Roku TVs they sell I bet its a lot higher in the US. https://twitter.com/... Scott Porch / @scottporch : Apple needs to get past its aversion to advertising and port @AppleTV to a TV OS. https://9to5google.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
TCL's disclosure quantifies its role as Google's volume engine in smart TVs: Google reported 80M monthly active devices on Android TV OS in May 2021 with strong US growth, and TCL now says it alone ships 10M+ Android TV sets and 10M+ Google TV sets annually — mostly outside the US, per Luke Bouma's read of the numbers.
The competitive frame matters: Roku claimed 38% US smart TV market share for 2020, so Google's installed-base growth runs through global OEMs like TCL rather than through US retail dominance. The thread also surfaces Scott Porch's point that Apple has no equivalent TV OS play, despite its App Store scale.
First-order effects
- Google gains a confirmed single-OEM channel shipping over 20M combined Android TV/Google TV units yearly, materially expanding the ad-and-services surface of Android TV OS beyond what its own 2021 account figures implied.
- TCL cements its position as the flagship licensee of Google's TV platforms, deepening its dependence on Google's software roadmap for its largest product line.
Second-order effects
- Roku's US-centric licensing model faces a rival whose footprint is strongest internationally, pressuring Roku to defend its 38% US share while Google's device base compounds through partners like TCL.
- Samsung's partnership bringing Google Photos to TizenOS TVs shows even competing TV OS operators pulling Google services in, blurring the lines between platform rivals at the services layer.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, TV operating systems consolidate into a two-tier structure — global licensed platforms (Android TV OS) versus regional champions (Roku in North America) — with hardware brands increasingly interchangeable beneath the software layer.
- The absence of an Apple TV OS licensing play leaves the open-TV-OS market to Google and Roku, making search, app store, and advertising economics on televisions largely a two-player contest.
The trend: Smart TV operating systems are turning into global licensing businesses in which hardware makers supply volume while Google and Roku compete for the interface and services layer.