App Store Sales Top $10 Billion in 2013, Over $1 Billion in December

app_store_icon_ios_7Apple announced today that App Store sales topped $10 billion in 2013, including a record breaking $1 billion in December alone, where App Store customers downloaded almost three billion apps. Overall, Apple has paid out over $15 billion to App Store developers.

“We’d like to thank our customers for making 2013 the best year ever for the App Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The lineup of apps for the holiday season was astonishing and we look forward to seeing what developers create in 2014.”

In its press release, Apple also highlighted a number of popular and emerging apps and developers while drawing special attention to a few larger developers that particularly embraced the new look and features of iOS 7, which was released in September.

Apple announced a year ago that the App Store had passed 40 billion downloads, with half of those coming in 2012. The company also announced that December 2012 brought over two billion downloads, with 500 million user accounts registered.

In May 2013, Apple hit 50 billion worldwide app downloads, which it celebrated with a promotion for a $10,000 gift card for the person who downloaded the 50 billionth app. The App Store also reached one million live apps in December.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature Purple

These 5 Features Will Make the iPhone 17 the Biggest Update in Years

Monday July 22, 2024 4:02 pm PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 16 models that we're expecting to see in September are going to be quite similar to the iPhone 15 models, but rumors suggest that Apple is making big changes in 2025. We've been hearing hints of an all-new device in the iPhone lineup, and it may be the most expensive iPhone Apple has offered to date. New 'Slim' Design Rumors have taken to referring to the new iPhone 17...
iOS 18 on iPhone Feature

Everything New in iOS 18 Beta 4

Tuesday July 23, 2024 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple released the fourth beta of iOS 18 today, introducing small changes to a number of features throughout the operating system. There are no big additions in this beta, but Apple is continuing to refine existing settings and design choices. Apple plans to continue updating iOS 18 over the next few months, with the update set to be released this fall. We've rounded up all of the changes...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Launch Early Next Year With OLED Display, 48MP Camera, and More

Monday July 22, 2024 7:22 am PDT by
The fourth-generation iPhone SE will offer a series of major upgrades over the current model, the leaker known as "Ice Universe" claims. The information was listed in a post on Weibo, which also detailed the specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup. As previously rumored, the fourth-generation iPhone SE is expected to feature Face ID and USB-C, marking a major upgrade from current and previous ...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature Purple

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Mechanical Aperture

Tuesday July 23, 2024 9:32 am PDT by
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...

Top Rated Comments

Winni Avatar
138 months ago
So is apple still doomed? :rolleyes:

They're about as doomed as Microsoft or Samsung... But as we could observe more than once in the last few decades, markets, trends and hypes can change quickly and the larger a company gets, the slower it can adept and change. When the next big thing (TM) comes, Apple should better have -THE- product for that market. Only a few years ago, it was unthinkable that Blackberry and Nokia would become endangered species. There also was a time when the entire IT industry was afraid of IBM. Empires and success stories don't last forever.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2457282 Avatar
138 months ago
I contributed a large chunk to this effort in December. Apple now owns my house and kids -- I still have the wife, but not sure for how long. :p:D;)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ZacNicholson Avatar
138 months ago
So is apple still doomed? :rolleyes:
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ted13 Avatar
138 months ago
When the next big thing (TM) comes, Apple should better have -THE- product for that market. Only a few years ago, it was unthinkable that Blackberry and Nokia would become endangered species.
Define "a few years ago". IIRC John Gruber wrote a RIM (Blackberry) is doomed article in 2008. By the time the iPhone 3G came out, it was pretty obvious that Nokia and RIM were done for. True, very few mainstream "experts" would acknowledge it, but anyone paying attention got it (like Google, who did an immediate 180 degree turn on Android from Blackberry/WinMo clone to iPhone clone.)

As for Apple needing to have "-THE- product for that market" or else they are doomed™, no, because unlike say RIM who had a single business, telephones, Apple has any number of different businesses that can alone sustain the company - Mac, iPhone, iPad, iTunes (media sales/rentals), Stores (which on their own make far more money than Amazon) - heck, even it's AppleTV hobby is something most companies can only dream about.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DavidMonteiro Avatar
138 months ago
I wonder how much of that revenue were from in-app purchases?
Probably from impatient Candy Crush players...

(Just something I noticed... That App Store icon is not even the actual icon...)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Traverse Avatar
138 months ago
That's just pocket change!:rolleyes:

But seriously, I'm glad for this because I hope it motivates developers to continue to make quality apps. However, I wonder how much of this went to the few big name developers. Also, like others have posted, I wonder how much came from useless in all purchases for mindless games...

I'll pay for a quality app and buy in app purchases to extend functionality, but I will not pay $99.99 for "1,000,000,000,000" coins to buy a weapon or new car.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)