14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is a money-making machine, there’s no doubt about that, and almost every single thing that wears the company’s logo becomes a successful product.
Living proof is the App Store, a service that Steve Jobs didn’t actually believe in at first, but which is now generating more money than what the total revenue of the entire company back in 2007 when the iPhone was launched.
Figures provided by research firm SensorTower reveals that only in the first half of 2017, Apple generated revenue with the App Store of $4.9 billion. Ten years ago, the whole company had a net income of $3.5 billion, which means that the App Store alone brings home 40 percent more money than Apple did with all of its businesses in 2017.
App Store growing substantially in 2016
And these statistics are not all surprising, as the App Store has continuously improved in the last years. Back in 2013, the App Store accounted for only 1 percent of Apple’s revenue, while in 2016, the figure more than tripled to eventually reach 3.4 percent.
Apple is not the only one making a fortune from the App Store, as developers are bringing home the bacon thanks to the army of iPhone and iPad users buying apps and games. In 2016, developers earned a record $20 billion, according to Apple’s own figures. Purchases from the App Store reached $3 billion in December alone.
At the same time, 2017 showed signs of success for the App Store ever since January 1, which turned out to be the busiest day ever for the service. Customer purchases totaled $240 million on the first day of the year, most likely following the activation of new devices after the Christmas holidays.
This is one of the reasons Apple keeps improving the App Store, and in the upcoming iOS 11 update due in September, the company will roll out a new design that it says puts the spotlight on high-quality apps that are worth buying. The new store is already available for users running beta versions of iOS.