Apple did not announce sales figures but said that the fourth quarter of 2015 was the "best quarter by far for Apple TV". There are now 3,600 apps in the tvOS App Store.
Strong start for Apple TV
The first version of the small black puck also known as Apple TV was launched in September 2010. In January 2015, the company announced that it had sold 25 million units, which means that it has sold 1.5 million units per quarter on average (17 quarters).
Apple TV will surely not reach iPhone-scale numbers but Apple’s CEO Tim Cook appears to be pleased with the performance of the new box that is the first to feature an App Store. The fourth quarter of 2015 was the “best quarter by far for Apple TV”, he said during an investor call. This means that at least 1.5 million units were sold but likely far more since the Holiday quarter is traditionally the strongest quarter. Apple is still selling the last-generation box.
This could also very well mean that Apple TV has reclaimed the crown as the best-selling media streamer, if game consoles are excluded. In the third quarter 2015, a total of 9.2 million media streamers were sold globally, and Google’s Chromecast led with 35% market share.
The new Apple TV was launched on October 26, 2015 and has been available for sale during only two-thirds of the fourth quarter. Apple has refused to break out sales numbers for Apple TV, which is part of the “other” category in its earnings report, together with Apple Watch, Beats headphones, accessories and more. The "other" category saw revenue increase by 62% year-on-year.
3600 apps after 3 months
During the call, Apple also confirmed that Apple TV now offers 3,600 apps across all categories, including games.
In mid-December there were 2,600 apps available from the tvOS App Store. At CES 2016, Google confirmed that the Google Play store on Android TV has 1,200 apps.
