An important milestone was passed in early 2016: more than half of the TV sets shipped globally in its first quarter were smart TVs.The acceleration in the uptake of internet connected TVs was led by China, where four out of five TV sets shipped with smart functionality. 56% of North American TV shipments were smart TVs, according to IHS Inc, a global source of critical information and insight.

“It is a remarkable result,” said Paul Gray, principal analyst for IHS Technology. “China and North America continue to experience growth in the share of smart TVs, and the feature is now established in entry-level products.”

To give some context to these numbers, worldwide shipments of smart TVs in the fourth quarter of 2015 reached 48.5% of all TV sets shipped in that quarter. In all, 34.2 million smart TVs were shipped in 2015’s fourth quarter, contributing to shipments breaking the 100 million mark for the first time in 2015, according to IHS Inc. By contrast, shipments stagnated in Europe and Japan in recent quarters. In Japan, only 38% of sets shipped with the feature, the lowest result recorded since 2011. European shipments remained stable at 40% to 45% level for the past two years.

The good news though is that smart TV shipments are expected to rise up to 134 million by 2020. “It is all about content,” said Gray, “where the local offering is relatively weak, consumers are reluctant to pay extra for built-in internet TV services.Good streaming content in local languages remains the key to value in smart TV.”

ANDROID RULES ON TV TOO

The Android operating system now accounts for almost half of smart TVs shipping in the first quarter of 2016. However, when examined more closely, Tizen leads all other regions and accounts for 43% of smart TVs shipped outside China.