Average U.S. iPhone User Spent $79 on Apps Last Year

iPhone users in the United States spent an average of $79 on App Store games and apps in 2018 according to an upcoming Sensor Tower report shared today by TechCrunch.

At $79, the revenue generated per active U.S. ‌iPhone‌ grew 36 percent year over year, up from an average of $58 spent per ‌iPhone‌ in 2017. ‌iPhone‌ users spent about $21 more in 2018 on in-app purchases and paid downloads.

iphonespendingperdevice
Much of the spending growth came from mobile gaming, with 56 percent of the $79 total average attributed to ‌App Store‌ games.

Spending was also up quite a lot in other categories such as entertainment, music, social networking, and health and fitness.

appstorespendinginapp
Sensor Tower believes that subscription apps are a contributing factor for the increased spending in many of these non-faming categories.

Apple's ‌App Store‌ is a major revenue driver for Apple in its services category, with app purchases continually setting new revenue records. The ‌App Store‌ hit a new single-day revenue record on New Year's Day, for example, with customers spending a whopping $322 million.

Over the holiday period including Christmas and New Year's Day, the ‌App Store‌ raked in more than $1.22 billion.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
top stories 2025 12 04a

Top Stories: iOS 26.2 Coming Soon, Apple Execs Depart, and More

Saturday December 6, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd expect things to be starting to wind down for the holidays by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet in the world of Apple news, with Apple just about ready to release iOS 26.2 and other operating system updates to the public. There was also a flurry of news this week about Apple executive departures, some expected and some not so expected, while we also learned that Apple and...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...

Top Rated Comments

KPandian1 Avatar
89 months ago
:)No, I did not. In fact, not one cent on the Apps;).
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
just.jon Avatar
89 months ago
If this doesn’t include Music and iCloud subscriptions, I don’t believe it.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rcooked Avatar
89 months ago
Interesting. My volume of purchases is down, as I pay for quality I will use. I also avoid subscriptions like the plague - my fear is more of a shift to this model.

Be interesting to watch.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CTHarrryH Avatar
89 months ago
0 for me again.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
john123 Avatar
89 months ago

iPhone users in the United States spent an average of $79 on App Store games and apps in 2018 according to an upcoming Sensor Tower report shared today by TechCrunch ('https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/11/us-iphone-users-spent-79-last-year-up-36-from-2017/').

At $79, the revenue generated per active U.S. iPhone grew 36 percent year over year, up from an average of $58 spent per iPhone in 2017. iPhone users spent about $21 more in 2018 on in-app purchases and paid downloads.
The title you guys have given to this story is incorrect.

It is not accurate to say that the average iPhone user spent $79 last year.

It is accurate to say that iPhone users spent on average $79 last year.

Those are not the same thing.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Abazigal Avatar
89 months ago
Apps purchased last year.

Apollo (paid full price outright)
Tweetbot (biggest tip)
Halide
Grimvalor
Launch centre pro (paid full price to unlock)
1blockerX
Linea
HeartWatch
Battleheart 2
Streets
Agenda

Am I pulling my weight enough? [emoji14]
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)