In an earnings conference call for its fourth quarter results, Google revealed that it sold more than ads last quarter, with a couple of hardware devices having performed very well during the period. The list includes the Nexus 5 smartphone that was launched late last year, and the Chromecast dongle, which was the company’s best-sold gadget during Q4, an affordable device that was further discounted as part of many interesting deals during the Christmas shopping season.
“We had great momentum on the Nexus 5 and Chromecast,” Google CFO Patrick Pichette said, describing the Nexus 5 as a “very strong” performer during the quarter. However, he did not reveal actual sales numbers for any of these two devices.
From the looks of it, Google seems to be getting better and better at selling hardware, including Nexus devices. Interestingly, the company is rumored to kill off the Nexus family in 2015, although that’s yet to be confirmed in any fashion by the company.
As for future Google hardware plans, the immediate future may have a red Nexus 5 in it, as well as a Lenovo/Motorla Nexus device later down the road. The company is also interested in expanding its Chromecast reach to international markets, where the dongle may be launched later this year, and the Google Glass product may graduate from Explorer status to a commercial version. More importantly, Google purchased Nest in a $3.2 billion deal, with the team behind the smart thermostat expected to build other interesting devices for the search giant in the future.
In addition to hardware sales, The Verge notes that Google also highlighted digital sales from its Play Stores as a strong revenue driver, but again, it did not actually mention any numbers.
