
30 days of tvOS sales numbers - kennywinker
https://medium.com/@CoryDMC/30-days-of-tvos-sales-numbers-6775814adc41#.h0sfc3z34
======
tvon
Serious question, would anyone expect to have much in the way of sales for a
dice rolling app or a stock gif collection on any other platform?

~~~
nsxwolf
I'm stunned he got any purchases at all. Who would pay for an app to roll dice
on your TV set? The purchases were probably accidental.

Aside: I always get a kick out of how these posts have to mention the very
small number of hours that were spent making the simple app. I bet it was
actually more.

~~~
kennywinker
People who want to play board games, but have lost their dice. It's a small
market, but I think I've cornered it.

~~~
nsxwolf
Did you release a smart phone version too?

~~~
kennywinker
No, that market is already saturated. ;P

------
mikeryan
_These download numbers are depressing, and I, like most developers who have
tvOS apps, blame discoverability. What that means is that there are just too
few ways for users to find or be shown tvOS apps_

Seriously? "Hey I threw together a couple of apps in a few days and they're
not being downloaded. Obviously not enough folks are discovering them".

Apps for these types of platforms are hard. But most folks want to watch video
(or play games) on their TV. They don't want to roll dice, or view Gif
slideshows.

~~~
potatolicious
The App Store is shit for discoverability - and I suspect the lack of an easy
keyboard makes it even worse on Apple TV.

But even if the discoverability were top notch, this still wouldn't be
discoverable. Does author seriously expect a properly functioning app
discovery engine to prominently surface a dice roller, or a gif browser?

There are many, many legitimate complaints against the App Store model and how
tough it is to survive as an app developer within that ecosystem, but the base
requirement is still "building something good that people want", and I really
don't feel like the author did that.

~~~
kennywinker
Author here!

I don't expect the app store to surface any particular app, just not get in
the way of finding things. I'm lucky, you only have to swipe across three tabs
and type in two letters to find my app.

Apple has said explicitly: "The future of TV is apps". If that's the case,
then all I ask is for a way to link users to my app.

~~~
chaz72
What would your ideal discovery process be?

~~~
kennywinker
Ideally - user curated app lists. Start with celebs and notable people from
various industries. If it's successful, eventually expand to everyone, not
just selected people. Allow curated lists to be updated by the curator
whenever they want.

That's a longer term solution I see. Short term, I just want you to be able to
click a button in iTunes on your Mac and in the App Store on your phone to
start the app downloading on your TV. That way I could put a link in this
comment and anyone who sees it and is interested can get the app in two
clicks.

~~~
chaz72
I like it. I would think that all they need to do is build your short term
solution and the open web can provide the rest. I mean, presuming they can
provide a link from the web to iTunes, which seems simple enough.

------
lsiunsuex
I have an Apple TV dev kit and I would have paid for it had they not given me
one for free (may still for the bedroom)

I have downloaded apps - both free (Netflix, Crackle, HBO, etc...) as well as
paid for apps - Geometry Wars 3 just this weekend.

I have an XBox One also - It's just much quicker / easier to just flip over to
Apple TV and start a game then to go through the whole process of booting the
XBox, putting in a game, etc... I'm not a hardcore gamer by any means but I
play when I need a break.

Missing from Apple TV still are Pandora / Spotify / others... I'd like to see
some party games - trivia, card, etc...

It's definitely difficult to find new apps - the on screen keyboard is garbage
and really needs to be worked out. Just give us a nice vertical scrolling list
with categories on the left.

IMO - it's still very new and developers are trying new stuff - see what works
/ what doesn't. The Netflix app is an example of this - the new interface is
absolute garbage. I've actually fired up my XBox to use Netflix on that
instead of Apple TV now...

~~~
jbigelow76
Missing Spotify is killer for me, it's actually tempting me to try Apple Music
since I anticipate having an Apple TV connected to my other TVs in the house
sooner or later. It doesn't even seem to be an issue of Apple blocking Spotify
to try and steer users to AM, Spotify just hasn't created an app yet (no idea
if it would get approved though). Seems like a strategic mistake on Spotify's
part.

~~~
jimminy
I've seen this issue for several apps (Spotify, Amazon Video, etc.), and I
always just shrug it off. You can use both with an AppleTV, but the
application has to be installed on a secondary device like an iPhone and then
streamed via Airplay. Both of the explicitly mentioned applications work
great, with that one exception of not having a native application on the
device.

------
outericky
The appletv has some horrid UX problems. The text input is horrid. Siri works
well enough for searching video content (though i wish there was a way to
disable itunes; always get my hopes up just to find that it requires an itunes
purchase).

App discovery is horrid. It's not easy to find apps, and if you aren't within
the first set you'll never find it. There is no way to discover via computer
or phone and send to appletv, so it's basically a no go. The only exposed apps
are the featured or most popular. After that it's guesswork at best.

------
cballard
I have an Apple TV (dev kit, I wouldn't have paid for one, but it's pretty
nice actually). I haven't used a single app besides Netflix and AirPlay (which
isn't really an app), and I'm not even sure why I'd want to use an app on my
TV instead of just using my MacBook Pro. I feel like this will end up the same
way as the Mac App Store: no one will make money, besides massive players.

Most of the benefit is that I don't need to plug my laptop into the projector
to watch shows now. Unless it's an Amazon show.

~~~
untog
_not even sure why I 'd want to use an app on my TV instead of just using my
MacBook Pro_

Do you ever decide what to watch with other people? That's the killer function
for these TV apps for me (though I have a Roku, not Apple TV). I can sit on
the sofa with my girlfriend and we can browse through the list of TV
shows/movies together and choose one, rather than having to both crowd around
a laptop, or worse, phone screen to decide.

~~~
abruzzi
I think to some extent it depends on what you see apps as on a device like the
AppleTV. To me the big potential draw of app on a TV is access to other
content streams that Apple hasn't negotiated contracts with. So while on my
old AppleTV I can watch iTunes content, Netflix and HBO, a smaller content
provider can build and submit an app. I can also get apps to stream local
content. For this kind of use using a MacBook or iPad is not a very good
substitute. On the other hand, if you are looking at filling the position of a
Wii or XBox, and you game solo, than the laptop or iPad might have material
advantages over a TV app, especially if you always play solo.

------
chrisBob
How many Apple TV's are out there? I am surprised that your numbers are as
high as they are for GifTV. I think it is safe to assume that roughly 0 people
have used the Siri Remote to type in "GIF Slideshow", but 10 people per day
are still installing the app.

Maybe my expectations are just much lower. When I put a hundred hours or so
into a game and upload it to the app store with no marketing I only expect
about a hundred downloads. I keep buying app store lottery tickets, but I
don't expect any of them to win. My next one will be for the Apple TV in the
next few days and we will see if that does any better.

~~~
kennywinker
I'd love to hear about your experience! Always nice to get perspective on what
strategies are working and what are not.

------
prawn
Given that Features are an effective way of getting traction, why create
anything but apps that will get featured? i.e., not a dice game.

I also have a theory that Apple are partial to apps that will make them money,
so a free app (unless monetised with Apple's ad platform) may struggle a bit.

Two of us in my office got dev kits and had Streaks Workout ready for ATV
launch. Have had a couple of features and charted OK. Nothing crazy, but more
than a handful of sales each day and the app is priced at about US$3.50.

Discoverability is poor but so are a lot of the apps out there.

~~~
kennywinker
For perspective, Apple is currently featuring a different gif slideshow app in
at least the canadian app store. Getting featured wasn't my primary goal, but
it's never been out of the question

------
bhouston
I was going to update our existing AppleTV but it is expensive. Going to try
Chromecast.

