Apple AirPlay, Screen-Mirroring Options Gain Consumer Awareness

A fairly large percentage of consumers out there are aware that Apple AirPlay would allow them to push content from a mobile device to a television screen, according to a study from NPD Group. And in fact, a full 40 percent of smartphone and tablet owners are aware of such “screen mirroring” capabilities. 

Awareness is strongest among men and 18-34 year-olds, the research firm found. “Screen sharing solutions are somewhat new, many only launched in 2012, so we don’t expect a lot of consumers to be using the technology yet,” said John Buffone, director of devices, NPD. “The awareness number is a positive indicator and will help build the foundation to engage more consumers with second screen experiences.”

And indeed, there aren’t that many people using it; only 7 percent of tablet and smartphone owners choose to do so.

Nonetheless, functionalities like Apple AirPlay, Samsung AllShare and Xbox SmartGlass are sparking high awareness among tablet and smartphone owners. Other options, like the ability to pair the YouTube app for iOS and Android with Google TV for pushing smartphone-shot user-generated content to the TV, are sure to follow.

“Apple is clearly the front-runner for consumer mind share, yet only 3 percent of tablet and smartphone owners cite using the AirPlay technology for mirroring their mobile device screen onto their TV,” NPD acknowledged.

Of the 7 percent of tablet and smartphone owners using screen mirroring to project to their TVs, most of the sharing was photos and videos. Seventy-five percent of tablet and smartphone owners shared videos from their mobile devices to the TV, and a little more than half used it to project pictures.

“Breaking into the mass-market is often a challenge with a new technology,” said Buffone. “Currently, several of the screen mirroring applications such as AirPlay and AllShare require specific devices to operate. Bringing screen sharing experiences to a larger consumer base will require simplifying hardware requirements as well as amplifying the value of being able to share content across screens.”