Apple CEO Tim Cook will speak at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California on Monday, June 4, 2018.
Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images
Apple’s App Store grew by more than $ 64 billion in 2020, according to a study by CNBC.
That’s up from an estimated $ 50 billion in 2019 and $ 48.5 billion in 2018, according to the same analysis, suggesting that App Store sales growth accelerated strongly during the Covid-19 pandemic, as people shelter at home and spend more time and money on apps and games.
App Store revenue grew 28% in 2020, up from 3.1% growth in 2019, according to a CNBC survey.
Apple’s App Store is a key growth area for the company. It is reportedly part of Apple’s Services division, which accounted for $ 53.7 billion in sales in Apple’s fiscal 2020, which ended in September.
The money Apple makes from its App Store has become a hotbed for Apple critics who argue it has too much power. Apple charges 30% for digital sales through its platform, with the exception of a few. Apple recently changed its tax structure, and now only offers a 15% cut from companies that generate less than $ 1 million in the App Store.
A conference subcommittee in 2020 found that Apple has monopoly power over the release of the iPhone app, which they say will bring profits outside of Apple. Epic Games is attacking Apple for trust reasons, which want to avoid 30% of sales from its games for paid iPhones, which it says is unfair. Apple has denied that the App Store is a monopoly, and is currently fighting Epic Games’ allegations in court.
Apple does not disclose how much revenue the App Store generates each year. Instead, since 2013, it has released data points in January that include the total amount Apple has paid developers since the App Store launched in 2008.
Using these numbers, it is possible to recover around the revenue generated by the App Store based on what Apple paid developers in a particular year. According to Wednesday’s press release, Apple has paid $ 200 billion to developers since 2008, up $ 45 billion from the figure announced in January 2020. If that equates to 70% of App Store sales, then the App Store raised about $ 64 billion last year. year.
There are some exceptions in cutting 30% of Apple ‘s digital sales, and Apple’ s figures are rough, making Apple Store ‘s overall sales appear to be even higher. Sensor Tower, an app analytics firm, estimates that the App Store made $ 72.3 billion in 2020 sales.
In 2016, Apple said that apps on the second year of subscription only need to pay 15%, and Apple CEO Eddy Cue emailed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in 2016 recommending that Apple charge a 15 % on subscriptions signed up via the Amazon Prime app to make a deal, according to an email published by Antitrust House Subcommittee last year.
But in my opinion, 30% want to take Apple closer than 15%. An analysis by RevenueCat, a company that makes software to help Apple developers bill accounts, found that only 16% of the apps it works with control the “give home ”over 75%. The most money-making apps on the App Store are usually games, which are not membership-based, but which monetize through in-app purchases, which Apple gets an account at 30%.
Starting this year, Apple is charging smaller developers who make less than $ 1 million a year on Apple platforms 15%, instead of 30%. But business apps are the winners, according to analysts. The top 1% of app publishers generate 93% of revenue across the App Store and Google Play Store, according to a 2019 estimate from Sensor Tower, an app analytics firm.