Apple’s iTunes App Store Flying High on 5th Birthday

As an iPhone app developer I consider this to be a truly momentous day. Steve Jobs may have passed but his crowning achievements live on, transforming billions of lives and the world as we know it. The founding of the iTunes App Store greatly contributed to Apple’s impressive rise from obscurity into a global tech empire. Five years ago on July 10th, 2008, the iTunes App Store launched, revolutionizing mobile computing history forever. In the first weekend more than 10 million iPhone apps were downloaded.

According to ABC News, “Contrary to what many might believe, Apple didn’t invent the app store concept for mobile phones. One store called Handango had come preloaded on many Windows Mobile, Palm and Nokia, but very few paid attention to the preloaded mobile mall. It was the launch of Apple’s store that prompted millions to hop on the app bandwagon and start downloading advanced software.”

Since the app store’s opening five years ago:

• 50 billion apps have been downloaded
• 900,000 apps are available for download
• $10 billion has been paid out to developers
• 300,000 new high tech jobs have been created in the US alone

The global iOS app developer community should reflect on the five years that have passed and all that the changes that mobile apps have made in everyday life.