Most developers will tell you that getting rich quickly through an iPhone App is the exception, but the stories of those who do continue to inspire many. Newsweek profiles some of the biggest winners of the App Store at this early stage.
Ge Wang is the developer behind Smule who has created a number of $0.99 applications, the most popular of which is Ocarina, a virtual musical wind instrument (video). Ocarina has seen over 400,000 downloads in less than a month and remains in the Top 10 Paid iPhone Apps. Wang expects his company to pull in close to $1 million this year.
Pangea Software is another company that has been able to find huge success on the App Store. As a long time Mac developer, Pangea was able to leverage several of their existing titles into popular iPhone Apps. Games such as Cro-Mag Rally and Enigmo will help Pangea generate $5 million in revenue this year. Pangea's Brian Greenstone notes that in the past four and a half months, Pangea's iPhone apps have generated more income than retail sales of all of Pangea's apps for the Mac for the past 21 years combined. It's no surprise that Pangea has given up writing Mac games and will focus entirely on the iPhone from now on. Greenstone claims this sort of success is within anyone's reach:
"Some kid in his bedroom can literally make a million bucks just by writing a little app," Greenstone says.
Thursday December 5, 2024 11:48 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.2 today, which means it's going to see a public launch imminently. Release candidates represent the final version of new software that will be provided to the public should no last minute bugs be found, and Apple includes release notes with the RC launch.
The iOS 18.2 release notes provide a look at all of the new features that are coming...
Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March.
The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
Friday December 6, 2024 4:07 pm PST by Juli Clover
In 2025, Apple is planning to debut a thinner version of the iPhone that will be sold alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. This iPhone 17 "Air" will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm thick, so an iPhone 17 that is 2mm thinner would come in at around 6.25mm. At 6.25mm,...
Friday December 6, 2024 5:14 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 lineup may bring some of the most significant display improvements we've seen in recent years. While the iPhone 17 series isn't expected until late 2025, multiple rumors suggest Apple is working on substantial screen upgrades across its entire smartphone range.
From enhanced refresh rates to advanced materials and improved power efficiency, these display...
Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for.
Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Thursday December 5, 2024 10:03 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the fourth betas. Alongside the release candidate versions of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating system updates, Apple has also seeded the watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2, and HomePod Software 18.2 RCs....
Thursday December 5, 2024 4:19 pm PST by Juli Clover
OpenAI today announced the launch of ChatGPT Pro, a $200 per month subscription service that provides unlimited access to OpenAI o1, the company's newest and most advanced large language model.
The plan includes unlimited use of OpenAI o1, o1-mini, GPT-4o, and Advanced Voice, along with o1 pro mode, an o1 version that uses more compute to provide better answers to the hardest problems. In...
