Cook: Apple Has Sold 20 Million Apple TV Units

(Photo : REUTERS/Robert Galbraith ) Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the company has sold some 20 million Apple TV devices, which takes Apple TV out of the 'hobby' niche and right into the competition alongside Amazon and Roku.

Despite little effort from its company, Apple TV has become a solid competition in the market after selling about 20 million units since it was launched, Variety reported.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that with its impressive numbers, Apple TV, which was once called a 'hobby,' is now on pace with its competition in the market, including Amazon's Fire TV as well as Roku.

'We've got a pretty large installed base there,' Cook said. 'I'm feeling quite food about that business and where it can go.'

The Apple executive said the company has sold an estimate of 10 million Apple TV units by the end of 2013, which generated more than $1 billion in revenue both from the hardware and content purchased through the units.

By comparison, Roku, which experts said streams more content, has sold about 8 million units of its streaming-video device as of early 2014, CNET reported.

'So it didn't feel right to me to refer to something that brought in a billion dollars as a 'hobby,'' Cook said.

Cook said with Apple TV, which already offers HBO Go, continuing to gain momentum in the market, he feels the device stands 'extremely favorable' against other streaming units, according to technology site TechCrunch.

'If you look at the content on Apple TV, it is extremely favorable to' what's available on other streaming devices, Cook said.

The Apple CEO said the company will continue to invest and develop Apple TV, but he remains mum on any new features, products or partnerships that Apple may have in the works.

When asked about the company's future plans, Cook said Apple is 'comfortable expanding' into new businesses, but the California-based company remains focused on delivering the highest-quality products and services to its customers.

'We have some great things we're working on that I'm very, very proud of and very excited about,' Cook said, according to Variety. 'We care about every detail... and that takes a bit longer.'

There are rumors that Apple is in talks to explore a several different new ventures, such as partnering with Comcast to develop a streaming-TV service that will be delivered to a dedicated portion of the cable company to a new Apple device, Variety reported.

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