App Store Sets New Records With $240M in Sales on New Year's Day, $20B Paid to Developers in 2016

[nburwell]

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.

I hear ya on binge downloading apps when the App Store was first introduced. Over the years, I slowly decreased the amount of apps I had installed on my iPhone. I still have about 50 apps installed on my phone currently, but I used to have pages upon pages of apps installed, some I look back on for no reason whatsoever.

Now I generally just have the apps installed that I know I will use on a regular or occasional basis.

 

[Juicy Box]

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.

I don't believe anyone mentioned USB-C in this entire thread. Actually, I don't see too many people complaining either. Was this meant for a different thread?

 

[i.mac]

They could focus on both, it is not like they are a tiny company with limited resources.

Good comment.

 

[Seoras]

I can confirm this, from a developers view point, that iOS App sales this week were phenomenal.
Can't say the same about Google Play sales though, my sales there were flat and average.
Did I just use the word "sales" in the context of Google Play?
Sorry! I meant downloads and mean reviews...
Really it's just not worth writing for Android.
The conversion ration (free to download with in-app upgrade to full function) is about 1/5 of what I get with iOS.
Shame as technically Android is really nice. Just unloved by Google and used by freeloaders.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Ummm, those iOS apps don't make themselves on iOS.

iOS apps are made on MAC.
[doublepost=1483633428][/doublepost]
What's your app/s?

Agreed. Apps take a lot of time and effort to be created.

This one here:
Speed Challenge https://appsto.re/us/KMm4ab.i

 

[EwanMcTeagle]

Same with me. I used to install apps every day. Another thing, that you touched upon, is that the stock apps became a lot better, often borrowing from 3rd party solutions, like the flashlight apps. I've sort of settled down with my iPhone - my home screen hasn't changed in more than 2 years. And if it has then it was due to removing some apps that I found useless/repetitive.
And the freemium games drive me crazy. I just can't understand why people download this crap. Now I feel that we get 1 or 2 decent games a year, like the Monument Valley. When such a game becomes popular the AppStore gets bombarded by millions of its clones and I lose interest in getting through that pile.
It still puzzles me why the Store's discoverability still sucks so much. It's better than it was, but I feel that I keep seeing same apps/games just under different themes/headlines every week or two.

 

[Jennifer Louviere]

Apple today announced that January 1, 2017 was the iOS App Store's "busiest day ever" with $240 million total in customer purchases made on the storefront on New Year's Day. Looking back at the past year, App Store developers made $20 billion in 2016, which the company said was up 40 percent from 2015.

In the announcement, Apple gave a few statistics on categories like the top grossing apps of the year, which included Monster Strike, Fantasy Westward, Clash Royale, and Pokémon Go. Following a launch in December, Super Mario Run was the number one downloaded app on both Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Throughout December, customers spent $3 billion in total on the App Store, which Apple said was another record-breaking month for the company.

In total, the App Store now offers 2.2 million apps, having increased by 20 percent from 2015. Independently developed apps, like Prisma, Reigns, Procreate, Lumino City, Sweat With Kayla and djay Pro, were listed as some of the "most successful apps" of 2016.

Globally, Apple said that the App Store helped raise over $17 million in both the fight against AIDS thanks to its annual PRODUCT(RED) campaign, as well as for the World Wildlife Fund thanks to the Apps for Earth program. The Chinese App Store has grown 90 percent in 2016, and in total the top-grossing markets for the App Store are ranked as: the U.S., China, Japan and the U.K.

In terms of apps with subscription fees, Netflix, HBO Now, Line, Tinder and MLB.com At Bat were listed as the most popular. Revenue from subscription fees grew 74 percent in 2016 to $2.7 billion, following major changes Apple made to App Store fees for these specific subscription video apps.

The all-new iMessage App Store also got a mention today, with Apple announcing that 21,000 iMessages apps are now available for users to install. Data gathered by Sensor Tower back in September accounted for just under 2,000 iMessage apps in the App Store, with sticker-related apps remaining the most popular throughout the year.

Article Link: App Store Sets New Records With $240M in Sales on New Year's Day, $20B Paid to Developers in 2016

This is amazing.

 

[big-ted]

21,000 iMessages apps

 

[Jax44]

You misunderstood. My point: 1% of developers got 99% of the money.

Ok, got it now!

 

[mi7chy]

Does Apple exaggerate the numbers or is the activity much less based on the number of reviews since Apple doesn't publish download numbers? Here's comparing the number of reviews per app on Apple App store vs Google Play store. Some of these apps have such low numbers that they don't deserve mentioning relative to others.

iOS Clash Royale
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clash-royale/id1053012308
224,096 reviews
? downloads

Google Clash Royale
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.supercell.clashroyale
9,594,562 reviews
100,000,000 - 500,000,000 downloads

iOS Monster Strike
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/monster-strike/id906287108
1,313 reviews
? downloads

Google Monster Strike
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.mixi.monsterstrikeUS
19,748 reviews
500,000 - 1,000,000 downloads

 

[0023828]

Never ceases to amaze me. I've had an iPhone since the beginning and I don't think I've spent more than $10 on the App Store. I'm too lazy to look, but I'd like to know what types of apps are generating the most revenue. I imagine it's games.

Mario is £7.99.

40 million downloads.

Yeah....

 

[Juicy Box]

Mario is £7.99.

40 million downloads.

Yeah....

I think that was the free version right? I didn't think that 40 million people purchased the IAP.

 

[Yojimbo007]

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why so much of Apple's focus is on iOS devices. They'd be foolish not to focus on the cash cow that generated 240M in revenue in ONE day. That's 10M per hour. Absolutely crazy.

Yes. But there is absolutly no excuse for company the size of Apple to only focus on this one thing and forget all the rest..

As the saying goes they should walk and chew gum at the sane time...
Its should not be either or !

 

[44267547]

Yep... you called it. Mostly games.

Interestingly, every app on this list is a free download with "in app purchases."

View attachment 681885

I don't personally play games on my Apple devices. But I am astonished how popular Candy Crush still is after all these years.

 

[moderngamenewb]

Never ceases to amaze me. I've had an iPhone since the beginning and I don't think I've spent more than $10 on the App Store. I'm too lazy to look, but I'd like to know what types of apps are generating the most revenue. I imagine it's games.

My guess is probably Simpsons Tapped Out, Family Guy Quest For Stuff, and Pokemon Go (all with loads of in-app purchases).

 

[Abazigal]

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.

Maybe a better word would be "neglect", instead of "abandon".

Apple will likely continue to sell Macs, just that updates become more infrequent and incremental in nature.

 

[travelsheep]

$20B? I make less than $50. That's not even enough to pay the annual $99 developer fee. And my app is beautiful, well designed and well made. I guess it all comes down to marketing. https://itunes.apple.com/at/app/sounds-like-chinese/id482946215?l=en&mt=8

 

[C DM]

Does Apple exaggerate the numbers or is the activity much less based on the number of reviews since Apple doesn't publish download numbers? Here's comparing the number of reviews per app on Apple App store vs Google Play store. Some of these apps have such low numbers that they don't deserve mentioning relative to others.

iOS Clash Royale
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clash-royale/id1053012308
224,096 reviews
? downloads

Google Clash Royale
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.supercell.clashroyale
9,594,562 reviews
100,000,000 - 500,000,000 downloads

iOS Monster Strike
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/monster-strike/id906287108
1,313 reviews
? downloads

Google Monster Strike
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.mixi.monsterstrikeUS
19,748 reviews
500,000 - 1,000,000 downloads

What apps gross is different and separate from how many ratings an app might have or even how many downloads there are.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

What apps gross is different and separate from how many ratings an app might have or even how many downloads there are.

Interesting game for people who want to learn Chinese.
Depending on your hit stats, you may make consider making it free for a day, and make sure your app kindly requests a review.
Fill up your app reviews and people may start buying. That's what I'm considering to do once I complete the update I've been working for a long time. Word of mouth is a great marketeer.

 

[MacBH928]

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.

Well historically, if Apple is constantly updating and upgrading a product that means the are into it. If they are having long phases of updates that means it doesn't care any more, and its probably on its way out. If memory serves me right... iPod classic, Xserve, iWeb, Final Cut Express, WebObjects, and Cinema displays.
[doublepost=1483726610][/doublepost]

Maybe a better word would be "neglect", instead of "abandon".

Apple will likely continue to sell Macs, just that updates become more infrequent and incremental in nature.

infrequent and incremental updates, which stars by neglecting the product, will then make the consumer look elsewhere with companies that try to improve and provide the latest and greatest... which starts the downward spiral of low macs sales to more neglecting, to lower sales to more neglecting, until we reach the abandoning stage.

 

[Ankou_Sabat]

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.

This is exactly correct. The only reason why iOS and apps are lite and successful is because they are built by the devs and run by infrastructure built with professional level hardware. Devs aren't building these apps on an iPad or an iPhone and the cloud backend or server backend isn't running on an iPad/iPhone either. So if you neglect the (albeit probably not exponentially profitable) pro market you'll be left with zero apps and backend.

 

[MacBH928]

So if you neglect the (albeit probably not exponentially profitable) pro market you'll be left with zero apps and backend.

I learned that Macs are a $22B a year business. If that is not enough business for Apple, maybe it should be like $900 Trillion maybe then Tim finds it worthwhile his time.

 

[firewood]

The distribution of these dollars to developers would be way more interesting.
It's the typical 1%, 99% Problem.

It's a typical power law distribution (typical for large markets with competition). One characteristic is that the top fraction of a percent takes almost all the revenue. An app company still needs apps well within that top fraction of a percent to be profitable.

But the other characteristic of a power law distribution is a very long tail. Which means a solo hobby developer can still make more than beer money (e.g. enough to buy new iPhones and MacBooks, etc.) from apps outside of the top 1% (but well above the bottom 50%).

 

[hiddenmarkov]

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why so much of Apple's focus is on iOS devices. They'd be foolish not to focus on the cash cow that generated 240M in revenue in ONE day. That's 10M per hour. Absolutely crazy.

issue is in theory mac os (and in theory apple sold hardware) is supposed to be the platform these are supposed to be developed on.

Which is becoming a vicious cycle. You see in iOS development hackintosh is on the rise. You only need the install stable enough to run x-code, test and submit. Hackintosh can do this...quite well in fact.

Then there is cross platform tech. Why write for iOS then android when this can do most of it and you iron out the small stuff. Impact here is apple has spent some time and money for swift development....not a good pat on the shoulder feeling when some say yeah...thanks apple but we are going this route instead.

See its becoming increasingly ironic iOS development is happening more and more on non apple based systems.


Cool and yay apple for the sales, don't won't to come off as a hater. its just becoming a sick joke the rise of non apple based programming for iOS is becoming dead common really. There in lies the danger of not caring as much about the other lines.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

issue is in theory mac os (and in theory apple sold hardware) is supposed to be the platform these are supposed to be developed on.

Which is becoming a vicious cycle. You see in iOS development hackintosh is on the rise. You only need the install stable enough to run x-code, test and submit. Hackintosh can do this...quite well in fact.

Then there is cross platform tech. Why write for iOS then android when this can do most of it and you iron out the small stuff. Impact here is apple has spent some time and money for swift development....not a good pat on the shoulder feeling when some say yeah...thanks apple but we are going this route instead.

See its becoming increasingly ironic iOS development is happening more and more on non apple based systems.


Cool and yay apple for the sales, don't won't to come off as a hater. its just becoming a sick joke the rise of non apple based programming for iOS is becoming dead common really. There in lies the danger of not caring as much about the other lines.

The regular Joe User is not capable to run a Hackintosh. This new generation of users know Instagram and Flappy Bird better than most of us, but know about Computers in general less that ever.
So for them to run a Hackintosh would be extremely difficult for not saying 'boring'. For them, it needs to be a computer easy to use and support: a Mac or iOS device (most prefer an iOS device, primarily their phones)