Apple reaches 1 billion app mark at rate of 5.5 million per day

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple has reached a symbolic 1 billion iPhone apps downloaded through the App Store in less than one year, and managed it at an unprecedented rate for the company.



The Cupertino, Calif.-based electronics giant confirmed the event shortly before 5PM Eastern time on Thursday, but as of this writing hadn't announced the name of the customer who downloaded the 1 billionth app or the download in question.



Similar to past iTunes music contests, though, the person who helped Apple achieve the milestone will be rewarded for their effort: the company will give the winner a 17-inch MacBook Pro, a Time Capsule router and a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card.



More significant, though, may be the speed with which Apple crossed the threshold. When the company had originally announced the countdown on April 10th, it had started the countdown with approximately 927 million apps downloaded since the App Store had opened in July of last year. At the time, the store was already pushing over 5 million apps per day.



With another 73 million downloads added to the counter in the 13 days since, the 1 billion mark signals that Apple registered an average of 5.55 million apps per day during the course of the countdown -- a 10 percent rate increase in just two weeks.



The increase caps a strong launch for the nine month-old App Store and supports just-published findings which show iPhone data use quickly outpacing its rival Android multiple times over in the wake of third-party apps being available on either platform. Research by mobile ad provider AdMob shows that US iPhone traffic during the App Store's first five months of existence grew an average of 88 percent each month, or nearly twice as much as Android's 47 percent in the five months since Android Market first opened its doors; the ability to customize the phone with software has in both cases triggered a rush, but Apple has reaped the most benefit from allowing outside developers.



While Apple had an unfair advantage of more iPhones already on the market and three months where Android wasn't offering competition, the discrepancy has widened to where US iPhones alone accounted for 8.4 times more data traffic on AdMob's service in March than Android phones, which so far are only represented by the T-Mobile G1. That gap becomes even wider at 13.8 times more traffic when all iPhones worldwide are factored in, and a dramatic 23 times larger when the iPod touch is included in the mix.



Apple's only worry now is that it may lose its edge through the possible ubiquity of Android in the future, AdMob says. Besides expansion to other countries, the Google-made mobile operating system should be available on more carriers, more phones and even on larger portables like Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and netbooks.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 42
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Ah, there we go. This is huge, huge news for the App Store and for Apple's revenue stream.



    However, it was not a symbolic 1 billion apps, it was literally 1 billion apps!
  • Reply 2 of 42
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    I sent in a registration a few thousand before 1 billion and when it went back to the countdown screen, the contest was closed.

    Me winner?
  • Reply 3 of 42
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chris_CA View Post


    I sent in a registration a few thousand before 1 billion and when it went back to the countdown screen, the contest was closed.

    Me winner?



    Nyet!
  • Reply 4 of 42
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    Ah, there we go. This is huge, huge news for the App Store and for Apple's revenue stream.



    I was wrong about no story and waiting for the winners to be announced. Must have the graph holding it up.
  • Reply 5 of 42
    cu10cu10 Posts: 294member
    Bye bye goodies
  • Reply 6 of 42
    The problem with Android will be that developers won't have the consistency of hardware that is present with the iPhone and iPod Touch. Android will wind up being like the other JavaVM's, where it is write-once, debug everywhere. It's won't be a 'write an app for Android', it's 'write an app for these phones, which have these different features, which happen to run Android".
  • Reply 7 of 42
    boogabooga Posts: 1,082member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by whatisgoingon View Post


    The problem with Android will be that developers won't have the consistency of hardware that is present with the iPhone and iPod Touch. Android will wind up being like the other JavaVM's, where it is write-once, debug everywhere. It's won't be a 'write an app for Android', it's 'write an app for these phones, which have these different features, which happen to run Android".



    I take it you have no actual experience deploying Java apps?
  • Reply 8 of 42
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Booga View Post


    I take it you have no actual experience deploying Java apps?



    Java apps magically reconfigure themselves to account for fundamental hardware differences?
  • Reply 9 of 42
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Speaking of which, remember when all the smart, non-koolaid drinking people explained to us how, because Apple didn't have an SDK at launch, and then tried to tide developers over with web apps, they were doomed to fail against developer friendly phones that let you do anything you wanted?



    And that when they did deliver an SDK it was too little too late, because Apple was far too controlling and extracting usurious percentages to use their App Store? And then when we heard about some apps taking a while to get approved, or some apps not getting approved, it made it clear that developers would abandon the platform in favor of something super developer friendly like Android?



    No? Oh, that's right. Being a smart, non-koolaid drinking person means you get to be wrong over and over again and yet somehow never come to question your own powers of analysis.
  • Reply 10 of 42
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    Speaking of which, remember when all the smart, non-koolaid drinking people explained to us how, because Apple didn't have an SDK at launch, and then tried to tide developers over with web apps, they were doomed to fail against developer friendly phones that let you do anything you wanted?



    And that when they did deliver an SDK it was too little too late, because Apple was far too controlling and extracting usurious percentages to use their App Store? And then when we heard about some apps taking a while to get approved, or some apps not getting approved, it made it clear that developers would abandon the platform in favor of something super developer friendly like Android?



    No? Oh, that's right. Being a smart, non-koolaid drinking person means you get to be wrong over and over again and yet somehow never come to question your own powers of analysis.



  • Reply 11 of 42
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,239member
    That's approximately 63 apps purchased per SECOND! They'll probably have to randomly select the winner.
  • Reply 12 of 42
    If I read the contest rules correctly the winner is not the downloader of the billionth app, but could be anyone who registered during the contest promotion period. They do not say how the winner will be chosen, and you did not have to download an app to enter the competition.
  • Reply 13 of 42
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    What happened to all the Apple defenders who were against the idea of third party iPhone applications? Apple should not allow third parties to create native iPhone applications. Nobody cares about third party iPhone applications. Web apps are really SWEET.
  • Reply 14 of 42
    dunksdunks Posts: 1,254member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by donvreug View Post


    If I read the contest rules correctly the winner is not the downloader of the billionth app, but could be anyone who registered during the contest promotion period. They do not say how the winner will be chosen, and you did not have to download an app to enter the competition.



    Exactly.
  • Reply 15 of 42
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    I was watching the timer when it happened it went up by around 20,000 in a couple of seconds from 999,980,000 to 1,000,000,500.



    It was a huge simultaneous hit on Apples servers, you'd have to measure in nanoseconds to find the billionth download.
  • Reply 16 of 42
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by donvreug View Post


    If I read the contest rules correctly the winner is not the downloader of the billionth app, but could be anyone who registered during the contest promotion period. They do not say how the winner will be chosen, and you did not have to download an app to enter the competition.



    Countdown to 1 Billion Apps - Officail Rules

    "The prize will be awarded for the entry (either through an app download or through the non-purchase online entry) sent immediately following the download of the 999,999,999th app."
  • Reply 17 of 42
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    I wonder how many of the Apps sold were the "kill the babies" app?
  • Reply 18 of 42
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    I wonder how many were the new QuickOffice Suite?



    http://www.quickoffice.com/quickoffice_iphone/



    hmm, cut and paste.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    I wonder how many of the Apps sold were the "kill the babies" app?



  • Reply 19 of 42
    ivan.rnn01ivan.rnn01 Posts: 1,822member
    The growth may slow down after winner squirrels 17" MacBook Pro away. still, 1 billion of downloads is impressive...
  • Reply 20 of 42
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chris_CA View Post


    Countdown to 1 Billion Apps - Officail Rules

    "The prize will be awarded for the entry (either through an app download or through the non-purchase online entry) sent immediately following the download of the 999,999,999th app."



    They actually didn't make that clear on the page advertising it. They worded it as though just downloading an app up until the billionth app was downloaded was enough. I pointed out the page to family members and they read it the same way. I was going to enter (or so I thought) by downloading an app but I didn't find any app worth downloading.



    It makes sense that they would pick the billionth download but they worded it badly. They should have written "prize will be awarded to downloader of 1 billionth app" instead of:



    "Join the celebration. Download any app and you automatically get the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a MacBook Pro.



    As of today, nearly one billion apps have been downloaded around the globe. So we just want to say thanks ? a billion. Download an app and you?ll automatically get the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a MacBook Pro. Just go to the iTunes Store, browse the App Store, and download your best app yet."



    Nowhere on the main page did it say that it's only the 1 billionth app that wins. I bet a lot of people will be disappointed over that. It now seems like they worded it that way to avoid people only downloading when it got close to the mark.
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