IOS App Developers pull over $1 Billion in Christmas Sales

Apple recently announced a record-smashing jump in iPhone, iPad and Apple TV sales for the holiday season: $1.1 billion in the two weeks around Christmas alone. The astronomical jump in sales volume came as a surprise even to veteran iPhone app developers, with the year closing out at around $20 billion in App Store revenue overall.

New Year’s Day proved to be the biggest sales day in history for the company, with iOS apps pulling in $144 — a new record for the company even as annual sales revenue has increased by 20–30% annually for several years now.

Said Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Philip Schiller, “We’re grateful to all the developers who have created the most innovative and exciting apps in the world for our customers. We can’t wait for what’s to come in 2016.”

Apple accompanied the announcement with a laundry list of metrics for iPhone app developers to pour over, including total iOS app developer payouts since 2008 ($40 billion), new job creation from app store activities (1.9 million in the US), and an overview of most popular app categories to-date, with social networking, mobile games, and entertainment offerings taking the lead.

San Francisco iPhone app developers have been quick to point out that while app category popularity is difficult to assign numbers to due to the discrepancy between raw download numbers and long-term app engagement, the numbers still hold out big promises to statistics-informed mobile app developers in 2016 and beyond.

The record-breaking revenue from the Apple App Store isn’t just a windfall for iPhone app developers; historically, Apple Store trends have been closely mirrored in the market for Android and other mobile platforms, and the impact on job creation are undeniably positive. If the trend continues, 2016 may be the biggest year yet for mobile app revenue and consumer tech adoption.