Apple sells 1 million copies of iPhoto for iOS in less than 10 days

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014


Apple revealed on Wednesday that the newly released iPhoto for iOS has sold a million copies from the App Store in its first 10 days.



There are now a million users of iPhoto for iPhone and iPad, Apple announced to The Loop. The number applies to users and not downloads, meaning it sold a million copies of the software.



At $5 apiece, that means Apple made $5 million from the software in its first 10 days of availability. The application was released two weeks ago, after the company unveiled its third-generation iPad.



Dubbed a "reinvention" of the preexisting iPhoto for Mac, the new version takes advantage of the multi-touch capabilities of the iPad and iPhone. It also supports photo sizes up to 19 megapixels.



As of Wednesday afternoon, iPhoto was the second-most-popular paid application on the iPad App Store, holding an average user rating of three-and-a-half stars out of five from nearly 2,300 reviews. On the iPhone App Store, where applications priced at 99 cents tend to dominate sales, iPhoto is currently the 18th-best-selling paid application, though it ranks 15th among the top grossing.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 46
    I would love to know how much it cost to produce iPhoto for iOS.
  • Reply 2 of 46
    beltsbearbeltsbear Posts: 314member
    This is what happens when you price software fairly. I feel the sweet spot is a little higher then $5, but not $79 like some other companies want. Make it cheap and EASY to purchase like Apple has and you will certainly reduce piracy to irreverent levels.



    Or you can have reduced customer satisfaction, hard to use and expensive to maintain copy protection, a team of costly lawyers to sue customers (totally taking them and everyone they know out of the future customer group) and unrealistic customer expectations due to the price like some other companies enjoy.
  • Reply 3 of 46
    aaarrrggghaaarrrgggh Posts: 1,609member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rutherware View Post


    I would love to know how much it cost to produce iPhoto for iOS.



    Me too... If I had to wager a guess, it is 106MB, figure 80% of that is images, you are around a million lines of code. If they re-used 50% of that, you might be looking at around $5-10MM invested in programming plus another $5MM in design. Based on some of the negative reviews, not all of that money has been put in yet, but I haven't bought it.



    An independent company could likely do it for half that cost safely given lower overhead.
  • Reply 4 of 46
    povilaspovilas Posts: 473member
    Apps like iPhoto make all the difference. Put the right apps and it’s s quite powerful device.
  • Reply 5 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BeltsBear View Post


    This is what happens when you price software fairly. I feel the sweet spot is a little higher then $5



    I think that Apple left money on the table.

    Would a price of $8 changed anyone's purchase decision? I think that demand is price inelastic under $10 for software of this quality and usefulness.
  • Reply 6 of 46
    povilaspovilas Posts: 473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aaarrrgggh View Post


    Me too... If I had to wager a guess, it is 106MB, figure 80% of that is images, you are around a million lines of code. If they re-used 50% of that, you might be looking at around $5-10MM invested in programming plus another $5MM in design. Based on some of the negative reviews, not all of that money has been put in yet, but I haven't bought it.



    An independent company could likely do it for half that cost safely given lower overhead.



    Basically you are saying that you don?t know shit.
  • Reply 7 of 46
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Povilas View Post


    Basically you are saying that you don?t know shit.



    Par for the course unfortunately
  • Reply 8 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DocNo42 View Post


    Par for the course unfortunately



    Haha I love the idea though that if I make it seem like my software has more "lines of code" that it's worth more money.
  • Reply 10 of 46
    kazkamkazkam Posts: 60member
    My guess is there are a lot of people buying this app because it's from Apple and it's new, shiny, and cheap.



    However, I'm also guessing most of those people will never actually USE this app. Who the hell takes every single one of their photos on an iPhone or iPad, or doesn't have years invested in an existing massive iPhoto library that this app doesn't even interface with?!



    OK, maybe this will fit the bill for some people, and maybe I'm a bit perturbed I won't be able sit on my sofa with my iPad and give my own iPhoto library the attention it deserves/needs, but I still say until they make the two (OS X and iOS versions) play well together, this is an app for the novelty closet.
  • Reply 11 of 46
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    The thing that is becoming evident to me is that complicated apps on iOS like Photo really are a bit confusing due to the icons not clearly representing the function that will be performed if you tap it. Because there is no hover to get a description of the action and the system wide undo function is not very intuitive either, they had to put an undo button in the app interface itself. This seems to reveal one of the shortcomings of a touch interface.
  • Reply 12 of 46
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by davebarnes View Post


    I think that Apple left money on the table.

    Would a price of $8 changed anyone's purchase decision? I think that demand is price inelastic under $10 for software of this quality and usefulness.



    A 60% increase would alter buying habits but I don't think it would be severe and I think they could accrue more profit for the app at a higher price. They also would have had to jack up the price of iMovie when they made it universal or simply made an iPad only version or iMovie HD that supersedes the iPhone/Touch version.



    That said, I think looking at the "sweet spot" for the app is not the most appropriate outlook. I think it makes more sense to look at the "sweet spot" for the ecosystem. If the app can be an instant favorite on a great display it will not only help keep users on the iPad it cold help pull them fpaway from the 'PC'.



    Also note that one of the common quips about the iPad is that it's for "consumption, not creation." This is what I'd call a killer app.
  • Reply 13 of 46
    wurm5150wurm5150 Posts: 763member
    Apple should just replace the stock Photos app in iOS with iPhoto..
  • Reply 14 of 46
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by franktinsley View Post


    Haha I love the idea though that if I make it seem like my software has more "lines of code" that it's worth more money.



    Ooh if that was the case;



    $iPhoto_letters_array = array (

    'FIRST_LETTER' => 'i',

    'SECOND_LETTER' => 'P',

    'THIRD_LETTER' => 'h',

    'FOURTH_LETTER => 'o',

    'FIFTH_LETTER => 't',

    'SIXTH_LETTER => 'o'

    );



    function print_app_name ($name_letters_array) {

    $gather_letters = null;

    foreach ($name_letters_array as $k => $v) {

    $gather_letters .= $v;

    }



    $whole_name = $gather_letters;



    return $whole_name;



    unset($whole_name);



    }



    print (print_app_name($iPhoto_letters_array));



    So for what that should have taken like 1 line to do, I've used like 18 lines. I'm in the money, I'm in the money, thanks for the tip.
  • Reply 15 of 46
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KazKam View Post


    My guess is there are a lot of people buying this app because it's from Apple and it's new, shiny, and cheap.



    The old 'people are buying it because it's from Apple' routine, eh?



    You know, the more that I hear that, the clearer it becomes that that this excuse is offered up by people who have no clue about what customers need.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    The thing that is becoming evident to me is that complicated apps on iOS like Photo really are a bit confusing due to the icons not clearly representing the function that will be performed if you tap it. Because there is no hover to get a description of the action and the system wide undo function is not very intuitive either, they had to put an undo button in the app interface itself. This seems to reveal one of the shortcomings of a touch interface.



    It's got a single question mark which you tap on to bring up overlays clearly labeling each and every function on the screen at any given time.



    Was that too difficult for you to use, was it?
  • Reply 16 of 46
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GTR View Post


    The old 'people are buying it because it's from Apple' routine, eh?



    You know, the more that I hear that, the clearer it becomes that that this excuse is offered up by people who have no clue about what customers need.







    It's got a single question mark which you tap on to bring up overlays clearly labeling each and every function on the screen at any given time.



    Was that too difficult for you to use, was it?



    Wait hold on let me write that down, question mark, okay got it, thanks.
  • Reply 17 of 46
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Relic View Post


    Ooh if that was the case;



    $iPhoto_letters_array = array (

    'FIRST_LETTER' => 'i',

    'SECOND_LETTER' => 'P',

    'THIRD_LETTER' => 'h',

    'FOURTH_LETTER => 'o',

    'FIFTH_LETTER => 't',

    'SIXTH_LETTER => 'o'

    );



    function print_app_name ($name_letters_array) {

    $gather_letters = null;

    foreach ($name_letters_array as $k => $v) {

    $gather_letters .= $v;

    }



    $whole_name = $gather_letters;



    return $whole_name;



    unset($whole_name);



    }



    print (print_app_name($iPhoto_letters_array));



    So for what that should have taken like 1 line to do, I've used like 18 lines. I'm in the money, I'm in the money, thanks for the tip.



    You forgot to add, right at the end:



    return $wads of cash; to Apple
  • Reply 18 of 46
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GTR View Post


    You forgot to add, right at the end:



    return $wads of cash; to Apple



    Hey it's my app so I should be entitled at least 5% of the proceeds,
  • Reply 19 of 46
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GTR View Post


    It's got a single question mark which you tap on to bring up overlays clearly labeling each and every function on the screen at any given time.



    Was that too difficult for you to use, was it?



    That's right. I forgot about that. I downloaded it the first day and have not opened it except the one time. Now I remember that I thought the '?' was a bit awkward as well. One button for every help topic all displayed at once. I don't know how well that works either.
  • Reply 20 of 46
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KazKam View Post


    My guess is there are a lot of people buying this app because it's from Apple and it's new, shiny, and cheap.



    I'm sure that accounts for some purchases, but 1 million?!? I think people are looking for a better Photo editing app. The existing crop of photo editing apps are pretty good but not a slam dunk.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KazKam View Post


    However, I'm also guessing most of those people will never actually USE this app. Who the hell takes every single one of their photos on an iPhone or iPad, or doesn't have years invested in an existing massive iPhoto library that this app doesn't even interface with?!



    Uhh really? I pretty much use my iPhone 4s for most everyday photos with amazing results. I still use my DSLR for some situations: low light situations (that I know about in advance which is rare!), or when I am composing a photo. Otherwise I pull my iPhone, flick the camera open from the lock screen and boo-ya awesome photo captured. Ok... potentially awesome photo captured.



    In fact, last year it was reported that the iPhone 4 is the most popular camera on Flickr. Clearly I am not alone.



    http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/21/flickr-iphone-data/



    I think the need that iPhoto may fill is to do some quick edits on photos that you just took so you don't have a ton of totally useless pics that need Photoshop work to make them look good. I am still playing with iPhoto so I can't say how cool or lame it is, but I was able to clean up a few pics I took on vacation on my iPhone so they didn't suck too bad. Previously I used Snapseed and PS Express so I am comparing iPhoto against those apps.
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