Some hobby: Apple sold 1.3M Apple TVs last quarter

While going over its sales figures for the quarter yesterday, Apple once again neglected to mention the Apple TV. In fact, it wasn’t even until an analyst asked a question about it, that Tim Cook spoke of the product.

This should kind of give you an idea of how Apple views the $99 set top box. It’s obviously not near as important as say the iPhone or, any of its other iOS devices. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not selling well…

In response to a question from Benjamin Reitzes of Barclays Capital regarding the Apple TV, Tim Cook said that Apple sold 1.3 million of them last quarter. That makes more than 5 million ATVs sold this year.

Cook goes on to say that due to the size of the revenue of the Apple TV business in comparison to Apple’s other businesses, it’s still considered a hobby. He then cheekily comments “However it is a beloved hobby.”

Either way, that’s some hobby. If you take 5 million Apple TVs, and you multiply that by the average $100 price tag, that’s $500 million. That’s more than some companies generate from all of their products combined.

Cook ended his remark with the usual “we continue to believe there is something more there, and continue to pull the strings to see where it takes us” statement. A common response to questions on Apple’s future TV plans.

On that front, it seems that all of the speculation regarding Apple building a full-sized television has died down as of late. But now that the iPad mini rumors have materialized, some believe the TV is next in line.