I must have spent hundreds of dollars on iOS apps since I got my iPhone 4s. Nowhere near those whales who spam IAPs like nobody's business, but still, not surprising. The App Store makes it super easy to purchase and download apps. Discovery is still next to impossible though. I have given up on discovering new apps in the App Store itself and rely primarily on Macstories to recommend me new apps.
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App Store Sets New Records With $240M in Sales on New Year's Day, $20B Paid to Developers in 2016
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Apple is seeing the advantage of making phones that continue to work and get updates for years. So while their market share isn't growing in terms of new phone sales, each iPhone is much more likely than its Android counterpart to have a second or even third user.
And this is a much much higher margin business for Apple than hardware sales.
And this is a much much higher margin business for Apple than hardware sales.
I would dispute Netflix (and maybe Pandora) being one with in-app purchases.
However one day those customers will disappear, especially as Android devices get better and more user friendly.
I am waiting to see what Nokia is going to bring out "hopefully" next month before I make a decision on spending another 2-3 years with Apple.
False Logic: iOS makes a lot of money, we have to abandon the Mac. Apple can make both.
1)Apple doesn't create the actual apps, they just get a cut for it being sold in their iTunes store
2)Apple basically makes 1 hardware platform and 1 OS. The iphone, the iPad which is a big iPhone, and iOS which already exists so they just tweak and update it.
While good for them to make so much money out of it, I just don't see how this is enough reason to abandon the Mac and OS X...which I imagine they use to build and design the iphone and iOS.
1)Apple doesn't create the actual apps, they just get a cut for it being sold in their iTunes store
2)Apple basically makes 1 hardware platform and 1 OS. The iphone, the iPad which is a big iPhone, and iOS which already exists so they just tweak and update it.
While good for them to make so much money out of it, I just don't see how this is enough reason to abandon the Mac and OS X...which I imagine they use to build and design the iphone and iOS.
Don't forget the old warning about not putting all your eggs in one basket.
Why? This is from the store.
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Agreed. The Mac is not going anywhere. Apple made more revenue on Macs last quarter than they did on iPads.
I'm sure this announcement is intended to help smooth the quarterly earnings call at the end of the month (as far as investors are concerned). I'm guessing iPhone sales will be a bit low, but Apps will pull in far more than expected. Tim will continue to point out the constant revenue stream from subscriptions.
As an investor, and owner of most every other Apple product, I hope the iPhone sales aren't too low. And I hope they crank up the dividend noticeably in 3 months. The past three years it's always been between 8-10% yearly increase. I'm dreaming that they go with a nice 15% increase this time.
And...I really wish they would show some d*mn innovation one of these days. My 2012 MacBook Air needs an update. And my Mac Pro. Oy.
As an investor, and owner of most every other Apple product, I hope the iPhone sales aren't too low. And I hope they crank up the dividend noticeably in 3 months. The past three years it's always been between 8-10% yearly increase. I'm dreaming that they go with a nice 15% increase this time.
And...I really wish they would show some d*mn innovation one of these days. My 2012 MacBook Air needs an update. And my Mac Pro. Oy.
Yes I strongly agree.
For me, I use the iOS and the Apple ecosystem because I love the Mac, not the other way around. If Apple ever decides to drop the Mac, I will drop Apple in a heartbeat. The iPhone will be the first to go.
I doubt I am the only one, although we may only be a small minority of people.
When the hardware lineup isn't updated for 3 years, customers email the CEO asking him if they are neglecting the Mac, and the CEO has to confirm that the Mac is still important to Apple...
we at least say they are ignoring it.
There are even rumors that Apple is going to start licensing OS X. You don't hear about Windows being ignored or abandoned by Microsoft.
I almost choked reading this. iOS is lacking so much to support even the most basic development workflows. For a start, it lacks a proper filesystem, multiple windows, generic support for concurrently running applications etc etc. I am not saying it can't be done but it will take far longer than you expect and it will make iOS a different beast all together (effectively morphing it into something like macOS). I am not sure that's what Apple wants or what the average iOS user wants...
You misunderstood. My point: 1% of developers got 99% of the money.
Sorry, I know that's a popular narrative to reflexively kick around, especially for the sad who are into bashing Apple at every opportunity, but that's just not going to happen. Extraordinarily silly when you put even a tiny bit of reasoned thought into it.
I used to be an appoholic and had hundreds upon hundreds of apps installed on my iPhone. Maybe even close to a thousand at one point. I had so many on my iPhone 3g within a month of the App Store launching (about 60-80, which was a lot then) that it caused serious problems on the device—so serious that Steve Jobs himself responded to my email and put me in touch with senior engineers at the company to figure out what was going on. I was always buying the latest apps, especially if there was a sale and AppShopper alerted me.
Nowadays I hardly install any apps, and the only one I can remember paying for recently was Mario and maybe some Apple TV games a few months ago. It's just weird having been so involved in trying out new apps since the launch of the App Store that my interest in doing so has completely flatlined. I think a big part of it is the freemium crap we see everywhere. I just don't buy into that. The other part is UI/UX design in apps.
It was really fascinating to me as this new touch input method was catching on how different developers would construct their interfaces and gestures. It was always changing and improving. It even inspired me to seek approval and funding at work to design our own app. I feel like a lot of that magic is gone and things now are fairly regimented. The surprise and delight factor is gone. I also feel like I got screwed over by certain apps I paid for. There are a few examples of this, going back to Loren Britcher's Tweetie which was sold to Twitter and transformed into an awful app. There have also been several email apps that I've tried which always eventually get shut down or sold and then shut down. It's just not worth the hassle for me anymore to try to move away from the stock apps, which have themselves improved quite a bit over the years.
It's great that the App Store seems to be doing well, but I just can't help but feel underwhelmed by it now. I've got a solid foundation of apps and don't need much else.
Nowadays I hardly install any apps, and the only one I can remember paying for recently was Mario and maybe some Apple TV games a few months ago. It's just weird having been so involved in trying out new apps since the launch of the App Store that my interest in doing so has completely flatlined. I think a big part of it is the freemium crap we see everywhere. I just don't buy into that. The other part is UI/UX design in apps.
It was really fascinating to me as this new touch input method was catching on how different developers would construct their interfaces and gestures. It was always changing and improving. It even inspired me to seek approval and funding at work to design our own app. I feel like a lot of that magic is gone and things now are fairly regimented. The surprise and delight factor is gone. I also feel like I got screwed over by certain apps I paid for. There are a few examples of this, going back to Loren Britcher's Tweetie which was sold to Twitter and transformed into an awful app. There have also been several email apps that I've tried which always eventually get shut down or sold and then shut down. It's just not worth the hassle for me anymore to try to move away from the stock apps, which have themselves improved quite a bit over the years.
It's great that the App Store seems to be doing well, but I just can't help but feel underwhelmed by it now. I've got a solid foundation of apps and don't need much else.
Ummm, those iOS apps don't make themselves on iOS.
iOS apps are made on MAC.
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iOS apps are made on MAC.
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What's your app/s?
This is the result of iTunes gift cards given as gifts for xmas. Most of the top money titles are games.
I am kind of like you because I don't have nearly as many apps as many folks. The iPhone has a lot built right in and so much stuff is free (and I can withstand the ads).
However, I recently bought the Dark Sky weather app and the Duet Display app for the iPad. Dark Sky is a great weather app and better than the free ones. it was worth $4 to me but the free weather apps are ok also. Duet Display was on sale for $9.99 vs it's regular price of 19.99. I would have paid the full price. it makes my iPad a dual monitor for my new MacBook Pro and I have found it to be a great app that enhances my use.
A lot of the apps I've bought are games for the grandkids. Totally worth it. However, since I play guitar there are many great guitar apps which are very useful. Some are cheap and others a little pricey. However, I consider my Windows days pre 2005 (my first iMac) and how every software package (App) cost $49, $100 and up! The App Store changed all of that.
I am not a power user but I have friends who are. I am retired but my younger, former coworkers would buy tons of productivity apps or things like Evernote.
Despite all of the gloom and doom of the Tech journalists, Apple isn't declining. It is robust and it's things like the App Store that keep it that way. "Cash is king" and Apple has more than everyone else. So the Android, Google, Samsung, Microsoft trolls who inhabit this forum can bash away but Apple is doing fine.
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Some of you are highlighting a major problem with macrumors.....it has become a gripe fest.
Most of the time pointing out what is wrong before you even have the product. The ports on the Macbook were one such issue. Did you notice one of the new laptops at CES added USB-C with but one fledgling standard USB?
Get ready for a dongle there....but here is it a gripe fest. I am hopeful and staying a little longer but my patience is wearing thin.
Most of the time pointing out what is wrong before you even have the product. The ports on the Macbook were one such issue. Did you notice one of the new laptops at CES added USB-C with but one fledgling standard USB?
Get ready for a dongle there....but here is it a gripe fest. I am hopeful and staying a little longer but my patience is wearing thin.