Apple Says App Store Set Single-Day Spending Record of $386 Million on New Year's Day

Apple has marked the close of a "historic 2019" for its services offerings with a press release celebrating Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, Apple News+ and Apple Card, as well as the continued success of its App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud.

Apple Services historic landmark year 01072020 big large 2x

"2019 was the biggest year for Services in Apple's history. We introduced several exciting new experiences for our customers, all while setting the standard for user privacy and security," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "We begin the new decade with incredible momentum and gratitude to our customers who have shown such enthusiasm for all of our Services, and we continue to celebrate the work of the world's best creators, storytellers, journalists and developers."

Here are some key takeaways from Apple's services highlights of 2019, including some things that the company says customers can look forward to in 2020:

  • ‌App Store‌ customers spent a record $1.42 billion between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, a 16 percent increase over last year, and $386 million on New Year's Day 2020 alone, a 20 percent increase over last year and a new single-day record.
  • Over 50 percent of ‌Apple Music‌ listeners have used the new time-synced lyrics feature that was introduced in 2019 with iOS 13.
  • ‌Apple TV+‌ "made history" as the first streaming platform to receive multiple Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations in its launch year, and is the first and only streaming service to debut instantly in over 100 countries and regions.
  • ‌Apple News‌ draws over 100 million monthly active users in the US, UK, Australia and Canada.
  • In 2020, ‌Apple News‌ will provide live coverage of key moments in the US presidential election in partnership with ABC News.
  • Apple Podcasts now delivers listeners over 800,000 shows in 155 countries.
  • In 2019, entry to more than 150 stadiums, ballparks, arenas and entertainment venues around the world was available with contactless tickets on iPhone and Apple Watch.
  • In 2020, customers will be able to tap their ‌iPhone‌ and Apple Watch to ride trains and buses in Washington, D.C., Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Foshan, Guangdong, and will be able to access dorms and services at additional universities across the US.
  • Over 75 percent of ‌iCloud‌ users are protected with two-factor authentication, an extra layer of security designed to ensure that no one else can access their account or data.

During its last earnings call of 2019, Apple revealed that in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2019 its services segment brought in $12.5 billion, up from $10.6 billion in the year-ago quarter and $11.46 billion in the third quarter of 2019. Services grew 18 percent year-over-year, and Apple said that it saw growth in all regions around the world.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that almost every one of Apple's services had set new all-time revenue records, including its search ad business, ‌‌Apple Music‌‌, Apple Care, cloud services, and the ‌‌App Store‌‌. Apple's services category is now the size of a Fortune 70 company by revenue.

Top Rated Comments

DeepIn2U Avatar
55 months ago

This fiscal quarter sounds like a blockbuster. What a difference year makes.
Indeed!

And guess what ... notice the hate against Cue has also died down? No major hit to their internet services, app store, online store, logistics in shipping has incredibly improved ... Apple Music is STILL improving and users are keeping their registrations.

Some investors keep thinking Apple is turning into a services company (incl Bloomberg) yet that's NOT the case. They make Software, and design the hardware to bring the best software they can. Now their doing the same with content/software in order to bring the best SERVICES they can vs the competition.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
55 months ago
This fiscal quarter sounds like a blockbuster. What a difference year makes.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thewebb Avatar
55 months ago
That's a lot of gift cards
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocMultimedia Avatar
55 months ago

This fiscal quarter sounds like a blockbuster. What a difference year makes.
I hope so. This could be a statement designed to keep investors calm when they have their earnings call later this month. "Some of our sales were miserable, but did you hear how good our services are doing?" Or, "Services were great, but yeah...they didn't really bring in the money."

Has Apple made one of these statements in prior years, or is this something new? I'm looking forward to the earnings call at the end of the month. Sure hoping for this news to carry over to that (and of course the prediction for the next quarter...they only thing analysts seem to care about).

Go $AAPL :)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Devyn89 Avatar
55 months ago
I think Apple TV+ is growing into my favourite streaming service :O. See and The Morning Show have been amazing so far. I just started watching Dickinson which is pretty funny and I’m excited to see Little America when it comes out.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FairlyKors Avatar
55 months ago
Is anyone else tired of the type of garbage illustration/animation similar to the kind we see posted here with this article? I understand “crap illustration” can be a stylistic choice, but it seems so pervasive that all I can think is that the demand for illustration and animation far exceed the talent available. VICE networks now seem to use nothing but stoned 6th graders to illustrate their series. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The NYT and New Yorker also employ what seem to be children high on psychedelics to do serious illustration and graphic design work. I can’t imagine any of this (perhaps) intentionally sloppy, goofy, dorky work aging well at all, considering it looks like a pile of **** right now. Just in my humble opinion, of course.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...