Apple's App Store Has Earned Developers More Than $100 Billion, Says Analyst

Apple celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the App Store Thursday in a post on its newsroom page featuring commentary from executives and app developers. The store launched on July 10, 2008, with 500 apps, which the company said “ignited a cultural, social and economic phenomenon that changed how people work, play, meet, travel and so much more.” Today, customers in more than 155 countries visit the store, it said. Phil Schiller, senior vice president-worldwide marketing, said the store exceeded all expectations and it’s “just the beginning.” Marco Arment, developer of Overcast, said the store eliminated the friction and overhead of setting up distribution and payment systems. Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova, founders of Imangi Studios, noted the company's first game, Imangi, launched the day the App Store opened. Ten years later, the company has created more than 10 games, including Temple Run, which has been downloaded over a billion times, they said. Daniel Wu, president of Hero Entertainment, praised the store for bringing gaming mainstream and giving gamers “new ways to socialize.” HBO CEO Richard Plepler called the arrival of HBO NOW at the App Store “one of the most significant moments” in the company’s history. Asymco analyst Horace Dediu said more than 28,000 iOS apps now offer subscriptions, which are up 95 percent from last year. As of June, developers have earned more than $100 billion from the App Store, Dediu said.