The tech giant and iPhone maker Apple has announced that it gave a massive $320 billion to the developers for selling their digital goods and services since the launch of its App Store in 2008. Now there are more than 900 million paid subscriptions across Apple services like Music, TV+, gaming and more.
In a blog post, the company said,
“This year, more people than ever visited the App Store to discover and download the world’s most creative and cutting-edge apps and games in a safe and trusted environment.”
Strengthening a robust global economy, the App Store connects developers of all sizes, from emerging solo creators to large international teams, with more than 650 million visitors across 175 regions every week.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services said, “At Apple, we have the privilege of partnering with creators of all kinds, while building products and services that enable even more creativity. Our mission has always been to enrich people’s lives and to leave the world better than we found it, and we know that takes more than technical skill.”
The company’s services category, which comprises the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, AppleCare, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, iCloud+, and more, earned a total of $78 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2022.
Apple’s services category earned $19 billion during the September quarter, up almost a billion from the $18 billion earned in the year-ago quarter. 2022 was a big year for Apple Music, which now has over 100 million songs, representing nearly the entire history of recorded music.
Image Credits: Forbes Tech
The year 2022 was also a milestone year for Shazam, as it marked the service’s 20th anniversary with 70 billion all-time Shazams.
In the year, Shazam launched 17 new national charts and 58 new city charts, expanding coverage of the world’s most discovered music to more parts of the world, as users discovered over 40 million different songs and more than 1 million artists received their very first Shazam, said Apple.
In spite of its challenges, Apple’s App Store business continues to grow.
The iphone giant noted that more than 650 million visitors from 175 regions worldwide visit the App Store every week and it’s still delivering new experiences. Among the highlights was the launch of Apex Legends on mobile earlier this year, and the growing popularity of a new form of social networking with BeReal, Apple’s “app of the year.”
Apple’s game subscription service, Apple Arcade, also grew in 2022 with the addition of more than 50 titles, including Warped Kart Racers, Jetpack Joyride 2, Gibbon: Beyond the Trees, Wylde Flowers and Cooking Mama: Cuisine. The service now hosts more than 200 games in total.