Apple recorded ‘record-breaking’ App Store holiday revenue

On the heels of a revised revenue forecast, Apple announced that it recorded “record-breaking” holiday revenue through the iOS App Store.

The company says that between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, Apple users spent $1.22 billion on apps and games in the App Store. On New Year’s Day specifically, users spent $322 million, an increase from $300 million last year.

“The App Store had a record-breaking holiday week and New Year’s Day. The holiday week was our biggest week ever with more than $1.22 billion spent on apps and games, and New Year’s Day set a new single-day record at more than $322 million,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, in a recent statement.

“Thanks to the inspiring work of our talented developers and the support of our incredible customers around the world, the App Store finished off an outstanding 2018 and kicked off 2019 with a bang.”

Apple says that the mobile version of battle royale games Fornite and PUBG were the most downloaded games over the holiday season, following by Brawl Stars, Asphalt 9 and Monsterstrike. Further, the company says that 1Password, Sweat and Luminosity also dominated the charts in their respective App Store categories.

This news comes just after Apple altered its Q1 2019 guidance, lowering its forecasted earnings by $9 billion. The company primarily blamed the Chinese market for the downturn, as well as the strength of the U.S. dollar.

In a recent internal employee memo, Tim Cook stated that the iPhone experienced record iPhone activations in the U.S. and Canada on Christmas Day. Despite the revised earnings expectations, the company also expected to set “all-time revenue record in “key markets,” including the U.S. and Canada, according to the internal memo.