Developers have earned more than $260 billion through the sale of digital goods and services on Apple’s App Store since the launch of the platform in 2008, the company said.
Last year, they earned $60bn on App Store, almost $15bn or over 33.3 per cent more than the earnings of 2020.
The iPhone maker said it created a “new yearly record for App Store developer earnings” last year.
It said this holiday season alone, App Store customers “spent more than ever before between Christmas eve and New Year’s eve, driving double-digit growth from last year”.
“2021 brought a slate of blockbuster launches to the App Store, with the world’s leading entertainment companies choosing to premiere marquee movies like ‘Black Widow’ from Disney+ and ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ from HBO Max in-app on the same day as their theatrical release,” the Cupertino-based company said in a statement.
Apple made the announcement on Monday as it disclosed the performance of its digital services unit.
This is an important announcement for investors and analysts. It sends out a message that the company is making money not only through selling hardware (products such as iPhones, iPads and Apple Watch) but also through selling services and apps to its customers, industry experts said.
In October, to attract more customers, App Store also launched In-App Events, timely events within apps and games such as game competitions, movie premieres and livestreamed experiences.
The App Store is one of the world’s biggest app marketplaces, home to more than 1.8 million apps and visited by more than half a billion people each week across 175 countries, according to data released by the company in June.
Apple pays developers between 70 per cent and 85 per cent of the total income from its App Store. It takes between 15 per cent and 30 per cent of income generated from purchases made in apps, depending on the type of content.
“Apple’s world-class portfolio of services proved essential in 2021, as people worldwide sought new ways to keep entertained, informed, connected and inspired,” the company’s senior vice president of services Eddy Cue said in a statement.
With over 745 million paid subscriptions, “Apple continues to connect the world’s developers, artists and storytellers with users across more than a billion devices”, he added.
In the last financial year that ended on September 25, the company reported a record $365.8bn in net sales and $108.9bn in operating income, representing 33 per cent and 64 per cent annual increases, respectively.
The company’s total revenue from services unit grew almost 27.2 per cent annually to more than $68.4bn in the 12-month period.
On January 3, Apple's market value briefly rose above the $3 trillion mark, shattering yet another record and underscoring how the Covid-19 pandemic has turbocharged Big Tech’s decades-long rise.
Apple’s stock was trading at $172.19 a share in the after-hours trading on Monday, giving the company a market valuation of more than $2.81tn.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
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Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
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Name: Mariam Ketait
Emirate: Dubai
Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown
Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
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Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
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Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
