Google is marketing Android TV more as an OEM solution for smart TV vendors at this point.
And I don't know that superior / inferior plays into it really. Standalone Android TV devices just don't make a lot of sense because there's no demand for them. Consumers trust Apple to make shitty experiences less shitty, so until Apple leads, there is no market. It's the same as it was (is?) for tablets: there's not really a market for tablets, but there's a market for iPads. I think that's what we'll see with the Apple TV.
And I don't know that superior / inferior plays into it really. Standalone Android TV devices just don't make a lot of sense because there's no demand for them. Consumers trust Apple to make shitty experiences less shitty, so until Apple leads, there is no market. It's the same as it was (is?) for tablets: there's not really a market for tablets, but there's a market for iPads. I think that's what we'll see with the Apple TV.