Apple iTunes App Store Makes Almost $500M in First Week of 2015 as iOS 8 Help Apps, Developers
It didn't take long for Apple to get some good news in 2015. In the first week of the new year, consumers put down almost $500 million on both apps and in-app purchases downloaded from Apple's App Store. This figure sets a brand new record for the Cupertino-based tech giant.
On top of that, according to a statement released on Thursday, Apple said New Year's Day 2015 was the biggest day ever in the history of its app store.
"This year is off to a tremendous start after a record-breaking year for the App Store and our developer community," Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said. "We're so proud of the creativity and innovation developers bring to the apps they create for iOS users and that the developer community has now earned over $25 billion."
This comes after a very good 2014 for the Apple App Store, which saw developers earn over $10 billion in revenue.
Apple said the launch of iOS 8, which occurred last year, has also helped developers do their jobs better.
"The introduction of iOS 8, the most significant iOS update ever, gave developers the ability to create amazing new apps and offers innovative features which proved wildly popular with App Store customers around the world," Apple said.
Apple also claimed its app store has led to the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs.
"In just six years, the iOS ecosystem has helped create 627,000 jobs in the U.S. alone," Apple said.
So what's next for Apple? That would be the launch of the Apple Watch, which marks the company's first foray into wearable devices. Considering this is a first for Apple and the first brand new device category launched under current CEO Tim Cook, it'll be interesting to see how well Apple will do in unfamiliar territory. The Apple Watch is expected to hit the market sometime in March.
After that, a mid-year debut for an oft-rumored, revamped Macbook Air is expected.
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