• by Wayne Friedman , July 24, 2014

Smartphones continue to dominate media consumers lives -- and soon smart TVs will too.

Smart TVs will represent 54% of all TV shipments next year, 63% in 2016, and 73% in 2017, according to Strategy Analytics and BI Intelligence estimates.

Other projections are that smart TV in U.S. homes will hit 29.2 million by the end of this year, 35.9 million by 2015, and 40.2 million in 2016.

Streaming devices -- those separate devices that make ordinary TVs smart or “connected TV” -- also are contributing to the growth rate. There were an estimated 8 million Apple TVs shipped in 2013, and 4.5 million Roku units -- and that by next year, there are projected to be more smart TVs then connected TVs.

Other projections are that 63% of U.S. TV homes have at least one TV connected to the Internet, either through a smart TV or a TV device, such as a game console or streaming device. This includes Apple TV, Google’s Chromecast, Roku. Among connected TV owners, 42% have two or more connected TVs. Connected TV shipments had a 19% increase to 2014 -- some 53 million.