While the new Apple TV’s tvOS is a significant improvement over past Apple TV models and other set-top boxes, it does have a few issues, particularly when it comes to the App Store’s layout.
Right now, likely because there aren’t many apps present in the tvOS App Store, sub sections, such as top charts and categories, don’t exist. This makes finding the most downloaded, as well as top paid and free apps, a difficult task.
There’s no question individual app charts are coming, but until they arrive, developer Steve Troughton Smith has found a way to directly access Apple’s web chart data. So far, he’s posted the new Apple TV’s top U.S. paid and grossing categories, and unsurprisingly, games are dominating these subsections.
In terms of the top U.S. paid apps, Beat Sports holds the top spot; Plex DLNA streaming app, SimpleX, grabs the second position; and Galaxy on Fire: Manticore Rising, Lumino City, Alto’s Adventure and Does not Commute round out the rest of the list.
SimpleX’s inclusion in this chart makes sense considering Plex has not yet launched on the new Apple TV. This is a clear indicator that early new Apple TV adopters want a simple way to play downloaded content on their Apple TV. An official Plex app is coming to the Apple TV at some point in the near future.
When the 10 to 20 ranking region is considered, utility apps like AirVideo and Carrot Weather begin to appear, but gaming dominates tvOS’s paid app list by a considerably margin.
The new Apple TV’s lack of top charts and categories is one of the device’s biggest issues right now. This makes discovering unknown apps, as well as gaining easy access to the most downloaded and useful applications, considerably more difficult than it should be.
Current estimates indicate approximately 1,000 tvOS apps are currently in the new Apple TV’s marketplace. It’s also important to point out that while the U.S. and Canadian iterations of Apple’s various App Stores are often similar, they sometimes feature slightly different app rankings.
Hopefully Apple revamps tvOS’s App Store and adds individual categories and sales charts at some point in the near future.
Related reading: The new Apple TV review: Apple reimagines the set-top box
[source]9to5Mac[/source]
