I really wanted to create this article because I want to show you a couple of things. The power of the app stores, the power of now AI and being able to build these apps quickly, and how a simple app if you get certain elements right can really generate lots of money for you. I'm going to share with you a simple universal TV remote app that is making over $300,000 a month, and I'm going to tell you those couple of things in a matter of a couple of minutes towards the end.
- Distribution is king - stop worrying about perfect features
- A simple app with basic onboarding and paywall can generate $300K+ monthly
- Keyword ranking and ASO strategy drive 500,000+ downloads per month organically
- Good enough is good enough if you have distribution
The $300K Universal TV Remote App
Here is the Universal TV remote app that's making over $300,000 a month. Here's the Sensor Tower data: 700,000 downloads, 300,000 in revenue right, and you can see it launched a long time ago. Was last updated but I'm going to go to my friends at App Figures. I want to give you the Sensor Tower because everybody looks at Sensor Tower first, but I really love App Figures and what you can do with it. And so I'm going to break down all the things you can do within App Figures if you're trying to do market research.
Let me show you the app figures number, very similar to sensor towers data as well. And you can see the top three or four countries is the same as sensor tower. It was US, Brazil, Russia and Spain. You can see US, Brazil and Russia top three. So very very similar numbers. The app was launched 6 years ago, so roughly 2019. So it seems like a long ago but in the app space not too long ago, but it's ranking really well for a lot of keywords.
Distribution Is King: Why Features Don't Matter As Much As You Think
Distribution is king. If you can get downloads whether organically through paid, I prefer organically because it's free, but if you can get downloads you can make money. I can just following what we've shared from paywalls and onboarding, all that stuff, you can make more money so easily. That's what I wanted to share with you guys. So that's point number one: Get distribution right. Stop worrying about the features because I'm about to show you the features of this app and you'll be astonished by how simple the app is.
App Store Presence Breakdown
Now I wanted to show you guys the app store presence. Couple of things I want to highlight right here. First, number 15 under utilities. So congratulations. That's amazing. 4.6 ratings, 58,000 ratings. They have this subscription which you can do with an app store connect to promote any of your in-app purchases, right? The subscription is really interesting. So this is their most popular one, the weekly one.
In-App Purchase Strategy
And I just had to double check on this screen. And what I want to show you is this in-app purchase down here, the lifetime. Now I couldn't find the lifetime. And I'll show you the paywall and all that stuff. I couldn't find the lifetime. So this is very interesting. I'm curious to see how the lifetime does. And if I'm looking at their at the sensor tower data right here on this screen, I can see that the lifetime is the least most popular, obviously because it's not on the paywall. It's only shown on the app store. But I like this idea because it's not shown on the paywall, which you know, spoiler alert, you'll see soon, but is only shown here. Kind of interesting the way they're doing this. I really like that idea.
The Onboarding Experience
Let's get in the app. Let's open it. Here's the first page. I like it. Some social proof. Hey developer, you can change it to 4.6 now. You're doing amazing. So here are the downloads. One application to control dozens of smart TV models. I don't even know. The screenshots show all the things, the Roku, the Google TV, the Samsung's, the LG, all that stuff, but I don't see it here. What's the next page? The paywall.
That's it. It's making over $300,000 a month. That's how simple it is. We could probably build this in a weekend using AI and get this done. It's so simple. It's so simple.
The Paywall Analysis
All right, this paywall is doing pretty well for him. Now let's look at the sensor tower data. You can see the $2.99, which we cannot find yet, so maybe it's an old one. Maybe they're doing price testing was is the most popular, followed by the $5.99, followed by the yearly, followed by some monthly and some yearly. Maybe they're testing this. And the lifetime is the very bottom.
Okay, so let's go back into the app. Right now we see the $5.99 per week with the three-day trial. These type of paywalls work really well and $35. Again, I have no idea if they're AB testing some paywalls, but I do know that if I switch to this yearly, then obviously I have to pay upfront.
Paywall Optimization Feedback
The way I would do this is take this app, take this screen. Cool. Add the touchpad feature, touch the keypad feature, because I really like the keypad. I hate entering all that stuff in there. And then highlight some of the benefits and then hit them with the paywall. But don't even need to do that. If you got download and you got distribution, it just doesn't matter as much. That's why I keep telling you guys, don't worry about the features. Don't worry about the onboarding. You could have the lamest paywall, the lamest onboarding, and still generate $30 plus,000 a month.
Core Features Breakdown
All right. Now if I hit X it's pretty easy. They search for on the Wi-Fi what other smart TVs are available on the Wi-Fi. I didn't want to give away all my TVs, but after I connected it, right here, this is our main TV, the Roku TV, I was hit with the remote control. It's very cool.
Ad Implementation
Now after the first time, like I turned on the power or something, and after I turned it on, I got an ad. I wanted to stop here for this ad as well. I really like this ad if you really want high click-through rates, right? Because they've got multiple, like right now I know if I tap here I'm going straight to the app store, this get button at the very bottom. But in the ad itself it says discover new devices, cancel or connect. So I actually hit connect and it went to this app right now. Funny enough, a universal control app is promoting another universal control app. Go figure. But I really like the ad play right here. So I ended up tapping it, but whatever, I hit X on this eventually and then I was back into pretty much the control.
Feature Navigation
Now a piece of feedback I would give to the developer is right here. You see these little buttons? I had no idea. I didn't actually know. I think I accidentally swiped right. I missed it. Look, I could have been stupid and I just didn't see it. But I also think the features underneath the swipe are kind of cool. So let's get into it.
So if you swipe once, you get a touchpad. Kind of cool with a keypad. I love a keypad. I wish some of my, I wish we could use a keypad sometimes. This is a premium feature. So if I tap here I get the paywall. All right. If I swipe again, I get all the channels I can connect to. Pretty cool. And then if I tap any of these channels, I see a paywall. And if you swipe one more time, here's the last screen. It is channels. No channels are set up. So nothing to really show here.
The other thing I wanted to show you was the settings. If you hit this gear, you're then presented with this premium remote which takes you to the paywall. I can disconnect my TV, send feedback, haptic feedback as well. And then there's, they're cross-promoting some other apps right here. So pretty pretty simple app. Something that I'm sure with AI you can build pretty easily, but it shows you the power of distribution.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Basic Remote Control | Main screen with standard TV remote buttons, Wi-Fi device detection |
| Touchpad & Keypad | Swipe-accessible premium feature for navigation and text entry |
| Channel Integration | Direct channel access (premium paywall) |
| Settings | Premium remote access, device management, haptic feedback, cross-promotion |
| Ad Implementation | Interactive ads after first use with high CTR design |
Revenue & Download Analysis
Now the last thing I want to do is really break down how they're driving so many downloads. So I'm using app figures right now. If we go to Sensor Tower, you can see, let's see if they say if they're promoting. Doesn't look like they're advertising anywhere from what I can see on Sensor Tower. Let's go to app figures. I really like their platform right here.
You can see all the download numbers. If you go to downloads tab right here, last 30 days, holy cow, 500,000 downloads. They've just been climbing and climbing and climbing, right? And mostly it looks like mostly organic if I'm not mistaken. You can see the top, the countries trending up. The top here, the top countries, the US by far, followed by Brazil. Don't sleep on Brazil. I really like it. Russia, Spain and Mexico.
Revenue Breakdown
And then you can look at the revenue numbers. Lifetime $4.8 million. Insanity, right? And the last 30 days, $375,000. Insane. Last 90 days, 1 million. Last 180 days, 1.8 million. Insane. Last year, 3.2 million. Really great. How simple is this app, by the way?
| Time Period | Revenue |
|---|---|
| Last 30 Days | $375,000 |
| Last 90 Days | $1 Million |
| Last 180 Days | $1.8 Million |
| Last Year | $3.2 Million |
| Lifetime | $4.8 Million |
Keyword Ranking Strategy (The Real Secret)
Now the real cool thing that I like about this app figures too is you can go under Apple ads. And doesn't look like this app is running any Apple search ads according to app figures. But this keyword rank, okay, this is what I'm saying. I've sorted this already for you guys, but with them ranking number one. Okay, so there's some keywords that are five traffic, but just get this: Remote control, rem, remote, remote control, remotto, which is just remote control in Spanish. Like these all have great volume and the app is number one. If I scroll, I'm to let's go 100. They're still number one. Insane, right?
Low-Volume Keyword Strategy
So let's go into popularity. Let's just remove any keywords that are under 20, because frankly those keywords don't matter as much. But why I showed you the five first was like, don't sleep on the five. All right, they might help you. You just want to get enough indexing and enough driving downloads that I don't, I wouldn't shy away from the five level keywords.
Now obviously you need to find 30, 40 keywords search volume keywords. But if you find something that is related to your app but only has five search traffic, but that five search traffic keyword also has the main keyword that you're trying to rank for. So let me X out of this and I'll show you an example. Right, TV control only has seven. Control app only has five. All right, remote app only has five. But that's obviously very relevant and relevant to the overall universal TV remote keyword, remote control TV, remote control. Those all have that. So don't sleep on the five.
Brand Keywords Opportunity
Why I also really like this category is a lot of brands, like Emerson TV remote, they might not have an app, right? They're a popular TV brand, but they might not have an app related to it. I know Roku does, but not every brand of TV brand has an app. So it gives you a lot of room and a lot of keywords to go after, right? So a lot of keywords that they're number one for.
High-Volume Keyword Performance
I'm going to go back to what I was trying to do and show you the top keywords that have at least a search traffic of 20. Now this list is a little bit smaller right now to end, but still a lot of, look at all these keywords: 61 remote, number one. Insane. 64 TV remote. This is the power of distribution. If you have distribution, the simplest apps make money.
| Keyword Type | Strategy |
|---|---|
| High Volume (20+) | Remote (61), TV Remote (64) - ranked #1 |
| Medium Volume (5-20) | TV Control (7), Control App (5), Remote App (5) |
| Brand Keywords | Emerson TV Remote, Samsung Remote, LG Remote - underserved opportunities |
| International | Remotto (Spanish for remote control) |
| Total Ranking Keywords | 100+ at #1 position |
Ready to analyze your app's keyword rankings?
Try App Figures for Keyword ResearchThe Good & The Bad
✅ Pros
- Over 500,000 downloads per month, mostly organic
- $375,000 monthly revenue with simple features
- Ranking #1 for 100+ keywords including high-volume terms
- Simple onboarding and paywall still convert effectively
- Smart in-app purchase strategy (lifetime only on App Store)
- Effective ad implementation with high CTR design
- Top markets: US, Brazil, Russia, Spain, Mexico
❌ Cons / Warnings
- Hidden swipe features - users might miss touchpad and keypad
- Promoting in-app purchases on App Store could hurt conversions
- Paywall could be better optimized with feature highlights
- No clear indication of swipe navigation
What You Can Learn From This
I really wanted to create this article for a couple of reasons. Number one, stop over complicating your features. Number two, a lot of people come to me: "I have the best onboarding, I have the best paywall, I have the best features." And I'm like, okay, what is your distribution? It just does not matter, right? You saw the paywall. Let's bring it up again. Here's the paywall. Here's the onboarding. That's it.
It's making over $300,000 a month. That's how simple it is. We could probably build this in a weekend using AI and get this done. It's so simple. It's so simple. So stop overindexing on features and optimizing your user experience. Good enough is good enough. Especially if you have distribution, you can fix everything else.
- Distribution beats perfect features every single time
- Keyword ranking is the foundation of organic growth
- Simple apps with good ASO can generate millions in revenue
- Focus on getting downloads first, optimize everything else second
- Brand keywords and low-volume terms matter more than you think
Final Verdict
Talking about a simple app like this, simplicity wins all the time. All right, go out there, build a simple app over the weekend, do some keyword research using tools like App Figures where you can see certain keywords that might not be focused on. What categories of apps are working? What can I build so simply that if I get distribution right, I know it will make money?
I've been doing this for a long time. That's why I keep saying distribution is king. Trust me, we have distribution because of our YouTube channel. It's helped with everything else. Period.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money can a simple universal remote app make?
Based on this case study, a simple universal TV remote app can generate over $300,000 per month ($3.75M annually) with basic features, proper ASO, and strong distribution. The app analyzed has generated $4.8 million in lifetime revenue since launching in 2019, with revenue climbing from $1.8M in the last 180 days to $3.2M in the last year.
What is the most important factor for app success - features or distribution?
Distribution is king. You can have the lamest paywall and the lamest onboarding and still generate significant revenue if you have distribution. This case study proves that a simple app with basic onboarding (one screen) and a standard paywall can make $300K+ monthly purely through organic downloads driven by keyword rankings. Good enough is good enough if you have distribution - you can fix everything else later.
How many downloads does a $300K per month app get?
The universal remote app analyzed receives approximately 500,000 downloads per month, mostly organic (not paid advertising). The top markets are United States, Brazil, Russia, Spain, and Mexico. Over its lifetime since 2019, the app has accumulated over 700,000 total downloads according to Sensor Tower data.
What keyword strategy works best for universal remote apps?
The winning strategy includes ranking #1 for 100+ keywords across multiple categories: high-volume terms like "remote" (61 search volume) and "TV remote" (64 search volume), medium-volume terms like "TV control" (7) and "remote app" (5), brand-specific keywords like "Emerson TV remote" where competitors don't have apps, and international terms like "remotto" (Spanish for remote control). Don't sleep on low-volume (5) keywords if they contain your main target keywords.
Should you promote in-app purchases on the App Store listing?
Test carefully. Sometimes promoting your in-app purchases can actually hurt your overall conversions. The app in this case study promotes their weekly subscription and lifetime purchase on the App Store (using icons via App Store Connect), but the lifetime option is NOT shown in the actual paywall - only on the store listing. This creates an interesting dynamic worth testing, but always A/B test before implementing widely.
Can you build a profitable universal remote app with AI in a weekend?
Yes. The case study app is so simple that it could probably be built in a weekend using AI. It features basic remote controls, a simple one-screen onboarding, a standard paywall with $5.99/week and $35/year options, swipe-accessible touchpad and keypad features, channel integration, and basic settings. The success comes from distribution and keyword ranking, not complex features. Focus on ASO and getting downloads, not over-engineering features.
What are the best tools for app keyword research and revenue analysis?
App Figures and Sensor Tower are the two primary tools mentioned. Sensor Tower is what everybody looks at first for download and revenue data. App Figures is preferred for deeper keyword ranking analysis, including keyword popularity sorting, tracking rankings for 5+ volume keywords, identifying brand keyword opportunities, and monitoring Apple Search Ads competition. App Figures shows download trends, revenue breakdowns by time period, and top countries performance all in one platform.
Final Thoughts
Simplicity wins all the time. Go out there, build a simple app over the weekend, do some keyword research using tools where you can see certain keywords that might not be focused on. What categories of apps are working? What can I build so simply that if I get distribution right, I know it will make money? Distribution is king.
Disclaimer: This content is based on publicly available app store data and third-party analytics platforms. Revenue figures are estimates from Sensor Tower and App Figures. Individual results may vary. This analysis is for educational purposes only and does not guarantee similar results.
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