Apple has announced that its global developer community has earned over $70 billion USD (roughly $94.5 billion CAD) since the launch of the App Store in 2008. App downloads have also grown over 70 per cent in the past 12 months.
In a press release, Apple specifically cited noteworthy successful app launches such as Pokémon Go, Super Mario Run, CancerAid, SPACE by THIX, Zones for Training with Exercise Intensity, Vanido, Ace Tennis and Havenly.
“People everywhere love apps and our customers are downloading them in record numbers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, in the press release. “Seventy billion dollars earned by developers is simply mind-blowing. We are amazed at all of the great new apps our developers create.”
Apple also attributes the “new engaging and creative ways [for users] to connect” that were added in last fall’s iOS 10 update. These features include sharing gift cards using Apple Pay or sharing a wide variety of stickers.
Additional earnings have come from the subscription business model made available in September 2016 to developers across all 25 app categories. The subscription integration allows users to enrol in, or make renewals for, various memberships from within an app, including Netflix to dating services, among others. Apple says these subscriptions have risen 58 percent year-over-year.
Some other notable figures in the press release:
- App Store developers come from over 155 countries
- Gaming and Entertainment are the top-grossing categories
- Lifestyle apps, as well as Health and Fitness, have grown over 70 percent in the past year
- The Photo and Video category is also one of the fastest-growing categories, experiencing nearly 90 per cent growth
June is gearing up to be a big month for Apple and its global network of developers. The Cupertino, California-based tech company will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose from June 5th-9th, where it will unveil its upcoming tech.
For those interested in watching, Apple will be offering a livestream from its website. MobileSyrup will also be in attendance to provide live coverage from WWDC. It’s unclear what, specifically, may be revealed at the event, but recent reports have suggested that Apple has a Siri-powered wireless speaker and dedicated artificial intelligence chip in the works.
In the meantime, check out MobileSyrup‘s ongoing series that profiles some of the Canadian developer talent that is headed to WWDC. The most recent feature highlights Vancouver-based Leaping Coyote Interactive, the makers of the fitness app RunGo.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
