With WWDC set to kick off, Apple announces App Store developers have earned $70B since 200...
Since it launched nearly 9 years ago, the iOS App Store has delivered more than $70 billion to developers, while downloads have surged 70 percent in the last year alone.
The new stats on the App Store were promoted by Apple on Thursday, just days before its annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to kick off. It cited popular Nintendo-licensed games Pokemon Go and Super Mario Run, as well as these "standout" offerings:
Apple also revealed that active paid subscriptions on the App Store have grown 58 percent year over year, thanks to subscription options being expanded to all 25 app categories. Subscription success was highlighted for regulars Netflix and Hulu, as well as new options like Tastemade, Over, and Enlight.
Health and fitness apps are said to have seen 70 percent growth in the last year, while photo and video app sales have surged 90 percent.
Thursday's press release cited new features debuting last year in iOS 10, including giving friends Starbucks gift cards with Apple Pay, collaborating on sketches with Pret a Template, or sending stickers via iMessage.
"People everywhere love apps and our customers are downloading them in record numbers," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Seventy billion dollars earned by developers is simply mind-blowing. We are amazed at all of the great new apps our developers create and can't wait to see them again next week at our Worldwide Developers Conference."
The new stats on the App Store were promoted by Apple on Thursday, just days before its annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to kick off. It cited popular Nintendo-licensed games Pokemon Go and Super Mario Run, as well as these "standout" offerings:
Apple also revealed that active paid subscriptions on the App Store have grown 58 percent year over year, thanks to subscription options being expanded to all 25 app categories. Subscription success was highlighted for regulars Netflix and Hulu, as well as new options like Tastemade, Over, and Enlight.
Health and fitness apps are said to have seen 70 percent growth in the last year, while photo and video app sales have surged 90 percent.
Thursday's press release cited new features debuting last year in iOS 10, including giving friends Starbucks gift cards with Apple Pay, collaborating on sketches with Pret a Template, or sending stickers via iMessage.
"People everywhere love apps and our customers are downloading them in record numbers," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Seventy billion dollars earned by developers is simply mind-blowing. We are amazed at all of the great new apps our developers create and can't wait to see them again next week at our Worldwide Developers Conference."
Comments
Another point of comparison: Microsoft's total revenue in 2011 was about $70 billion, and Microsoft has about 120k employees.
So one could argue that the software business enabled by the App Store is definitely bigger than Adobe but much smaller than Microsoft.
It seems like they are on the practice runs, see that there is not enough time and decide to chuck out slides that can be short press releases.
$70 billion to developers = $7.78 billion per year average. But as of 5/2017, there's 2.2 million apps, according to a report I read. That's an average of $3535 per app, per year. Of course most apps do nothing and many are free.
But if we assume that the top 5% do 95% of the business (and it's probably more extreme than that), then the top 110,000 apps have averaged just over $67,000 per year.
If we assume that the top 1% do 99% of the business, then the top 22,000 apps net $245,000 to each app's developer. But the rest average just $36 net. My bet is that no more than the top 1000 apps make any money.
IMO, 2.2 million apps seems like far too many. It's too difficult to find the quality apps. Even 50,000 apps seems like far too many to me.
For a comparison to be useful you have to compare similar things.
For example, how much has Microsoft's App Store made for its developers since it started up and compare Apple's App Store over the same period.
Scientists decided Jupiter was the biggest planet in the solar system by comparing it to other planets in the same solar system. They did not decide it was the biggest planet in this solar system by comparing it with a planet on the other side of the galaxy.
Good news though.
It is a definite power distribution of course. You could be right that the top apps are making millions - 1,000 apps making a few millions adds up to billions in revenue, not shared amongst most apps. However some of the most common apps dont make money through the app store at all ( FaceBook and Twitter make their money from advertising) or sell their products outside the app store ( Amazon) or mostly outside the app store ( netflix) or are convenience apps to replace or enhance websites (banks, airlines and so on). There's far more money in that sphere for most developers - not in the bedroom app development.
Not this bullshit again (divide revenues by number of Apps to falsely proclaim that most App developers aren't making money).
A large portion of Apps are free and are provided as a service by the company they were created for. A banking App is a perfect example of this. They are 100% free, but would represent a full-time developer to create and maintain. That's a well-paid employee position created specifically for iOS (or iOS/Android). Facebook is at the other extreme. They likely have an entire team of developers devoted to their iOS and Android Apps. All well paid individuals for an App that doesn't generate any revenue (where Apple would take their 30% cut). Then you have small businesses or organizations with Apps. They don't have a developer as an employee, but likely had contracted an App development company to make an App for them.
The bottom line is there are a LOT of people making a living off the App Store as developers. Including a large number of 100% free Apps that make neither them or Apple any money.
Edited: I see Asdasd basically said the same thing.