Apple users have spent over $100 billion in the App Store
And downloads are still on the rise.
Apple announced today that app developers have earned over $70 billion through the App Store since its launch in 2008. As ever, the revenue split between Apple and its app developers is 70/30 for most purchases, meaning users have spent over $100 billion in the App Store.
The company also announced that app downloads have increased over 70 percent just in the past year, with photo and video apps nearing a 90 percent growth rate. Apple's ever-increasing camera quality and everyone's love of photo-sharing likely play into how well these types of apps continue to do.
Additionally, active paid app subscriptions are also up 58 percent year over year. Last June, Apple changed how it shared revenue coming in from subscriptions. While first year subscriptions are still subject to the 70/30 split, Apple's take from those maintained longer than that drops down to 15 percent. And in November, rumors circulated that the 85/15 split might soon be applied to all subscription video apps with no increased take in the first year -- but only if those apps were integrated with Apple's TV app.
Companies like Spotify, Netflix, and YouTube often pass Apple's take onto the customer, making it more expensive to get the service through the App Store than through the providers themselves. Spotify has even gone so far as to encourage customers to cancel their iTunes subscription of the service and sign-up directly through Spotify to avoid higher fees. So, such a move could be beneficial to both those shopping in the App Store and Apple itself.
Apple's announcement comes days before its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicks off Monday. Engadget will be live-blogging the event along with any additional information on App Store growth.
