Survey Sez: Smart-TV Makers Need Even Smarter Apps

Many smart-TV owners are frustrated because of slow user interfaces and complex registration procedures, according to the latest research published by the Strategy Analytics Digital Home Observatory (DHO) service.

The report says surveyed users believe the performance of smart or connected TVs is much slower than they expected, particularly when compared to smartphones and tablets. “Users are also unwilling to explore smart-TV apps stores, partly because of the TV’s slow performance, and also because they feel that many of the apps available are of no interest,” it adds.

The research identified other barriers to discovery of smart-TV apps, noting “the categorization of apps is often unnecessarily complicated, and owners report that they come across apps which are not even usable on the smart TV.”

“Connected-TV owners clearly need some form of motivation to begin the apps discovery and download process as they are not using this feature regularly,” comments Caroline Park, the report’s author. “Improvements in the speed of the smart-TV interface and overall usability would encourage users to take part in searching for and discovering new apps.”

She adds, “All in all, smart-TV manufacturers have a long way to go before they match the fast, intuitive user experience now familiar to owners of smartphones and tablets.”