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Apple App Store Developers Earned $20 Billion in 2016, Up 40 Percent Year Over Year (cnbc.com)

Posted by msmash on from the $$$ dept.

Apple said Thursday its App Store generated $20 billion for developers in 2016, a 40 percent increase from 2015, helped by the popularity of games such as Pokemon Go and Super Mario Run and increased revenue from subscriptions. From a report on CNBC: "2016 was an amazingly great year for the App Store," Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, told CNBC. "We continue to advance what is available for developers to create. And our catalog of apps grew 20 percent to 2.2 million." Schiller said the biggest drivers for the App Store included games such as "Pokemon Go," which was the most downloaded app in 2016; "Super Mario," which was the most downloaded app on Christmas and New Year's days; and subscription-based apps, such as Netflix, Hulu and Time Warner's HBO Go. The tech giant said its biggest day of sales on the App Store was on Jan. 1, 2017, when customers spent a record $240 million. The top grossing markets included the U.S, U.K., Japan and China, which saw 90 percent year-over-year growth.

26 comments

  1. App guy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Summarize this summary in one sentence for me, will you?

    I cannot do it myself, for I am a luddite.

  2. Needs more numbers by r2rknot · · Score: 2

    I get a feeling that while they are including all app devs, the money generated was really only though a small group of devs producing handfull of apps. Would really be interested in what the average 'per development house' take was. As well as the earnings median.

    --
    "...whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive...it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..."
    1. Re:Needs more numbers by ranton · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes, a histogram showing the earnings of each development house (which sell apps that make revenue) by their percentage of the total App Store earnings, would give a better picture of how well most app developers are doing. My guess is it would look something like this:

      Top 2% - $19.5 billion
      Next 18% - $485 million
      Next 20% - $14.75 million
      Next 60% - $250 thousand

      --
      -- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
    2. Re:Needs more numbers by H3lldr0p · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Agreed. But I don't think Apple would ever let those numbers out. It might tarnish whatever reputation they have left with the indie crowd that first made the app store popular.

      Besides we already know the truth of the matter. Small and independent developers are hard pressed to be able to survive on anything the store brings in. Discovery is wonky as hell, you may get kicked out for squinting at the sun wrong, or Apple may decide your app should now be part of their core functionality. In any of those cases, I wouldn't quit your day job even if you do get an app in the store.

    3. Re:Needs more numbers by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      nice catch

    4. Re:Needs more numbers by ClaraBow · · Score: 2

      Besides we already know the truth of the matter. Small and independent developers are hard pressed to be able to survive on anything the store brings in. Discovery is wonky as hell, you may get kicked out for squinting at the sun wrong, or Apple may decide your app should now be part of their core functionality. In any of those cases, I wouldn't quit your day job even if you do get an app in the store.

      I agree. But an independent, talented developer has the means to develop a hit application and be reasonably compensated.

    5. Re:Needs more numbers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Funny, the only reason to publish to the app store these days is its a resume requirement -- "Published at least one app to the store." Literally its the only reason for the $99 a year membership now.

      Its not really much of a store anymore. Just a hosting service.

      The app store and Steve Jobs have been dead a long time.

    6. Re:Needs more numbers by erapert · · Score: 1

      Sturgeon's law. So what if most app developers get paid shit? If their apps are shit then why should anyone buy their shit?

    7. Re:Needs more numbers by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      Besides we already know the truth of the matter. Small and independent developers are hard pressed to be able to survive on anything the store brings in. Discovery is wonky as hell, you may get kicked out for squinting at the sun wrong, or Apple may decide your app should now be part of their core functionality. In any of those cases, I wouldn't quit your day job even if you do get an app in the store.

      If you're counting on "Discovery" (or "write it and they will come") you've missed the boat completely. You don't discover anything in the app store anymore, anymore than you can discover games in Steam, or discover new open source projects just browsing the web.

      You need to do one thing - marketing. Because without it, no one will hear about your app. And with 1.8 million of them in the Apple App Store alone, you're an itty-bitty voice.

      You need to get word of your app out there - and it doesn't have to cost money. Word of mouth is a great way, and if you have a community around the app's area of focus, then it's even easier to have people try out your app. And then take in feedback and incorporate the improvements because then you get them spouting how good it is.

    8. Re: Needs more numbers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also, why feed 60% of people when most of them are bums. Just give all money to 1% and be done, they are entitled.

      Pokemon and Mario are such stupid games, who are the idiots that play them.

    9. Re:Needs more numbers by kuzb · · Score: 1

      They have no reputation left with anyone willing to read criticism. Tim Cook saw to that with monumental next-level stupidity.

      --
      BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
    10. Re:Needs more numbers by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      Yes, a histogram showing the earnings of each development house (which sell apps that make revenue) by their percentage of the total App Store earnings, would give a better picture of how well most app developers are doing. My guess is it would look something like this:

      Top 2% - $19.5 billion Next 18% - $485 million Next 20% - $14.75 million Next 60% - $250 thousand

      So what's your point? That people develop for Android instead? Ignoring that the distribution looks similar, the total revenue is half, spread amongst twice as many developers? Or any other market, where, again, the distribution looks similar, but the visibility of your app is even lower?

      Anyway, that's just the money going though Apple's App Store payments. It ignores most income through ads, and all contracted developer income from free apps. Facebook, Google, Amazon, Netflix, Twitter and others offering services have hundreds if not thousands of contracted developers working on iOS apps. Similar for jobs writing apps to support hardware.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
  3. Is that impressive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Because with ~2 million apps in the store that comes out to $10,000 per app. Meh.

  4. Number games by elrous0 · · Score: 1

    If 500,000 apps earn their developers a total of $1 million in year 1 and 1 million apps earn their developers a total of $1.5 million in year 2, in which year would you make the most money as an individual developer of a single app?

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:Number games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      2009

    2. Re:Number games by Stele · · Score: 2

      Never. Nobody will ever hear of your app. And there will be 10 clones of it within a week anyway.

    3. Re:Number games by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      absolutely right!

  5. That's exactly what the article and summary say. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I get a feeling that while they are including all app devs, the money generated was really only though a small group of devs producing handfull of apps.

    No shit. That's exactly what the article says:

    ... the biggest drivers for the App Store included games such as "Pokemon Go," which was the most downloaded app in 2016; "Super Mario," which was the most downloaded app on Christmas and New Year's days ...

    And it's what the summary says twice, once in that quote from the article, and again when it summarizes the article!

  6. One added Store feature that would help a lot by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    App Store needs a built-in ability to 'expire' an app after 30 days. This would allow devs to offer fully functional apps on a trial basis, like the standard for computer applications. As it stands now the developer has to write a second, "Lite" version of the app as a demo, rather than being able to concentrate on one full-function app.

  7. My app by slapout · · Score: 1

    Last year my app earned me $20. :-(

    --
    Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
    1. Re:My app by seoras · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I had been writing Apps for iOS exclusively up until last September when I ported one of my Apps to Android to test the water there.
      My Android App is identical to the iOS one with some Android native UI differences.
      You can use the App (iOS or Android) with interstitial Ads or pay to remove them and get full functionality.
      I get more installs of the Android App (10->30% more) but, at most, only 1/5 of the revenue from in-app upgrades to full version.
      I also get some really awful reviews, on Google Play, from a minority who think everything should be free (including Ad free).
      I enjoyed working with Java and writing the App even though Google's documentation is woefully out of date.
      It's so easy to do updates which appear live on Play within hours of being compiled.
      However I need to make a living and it just doesn't pay. Bottom line.
      This week my sales, on iOS, have been phenomenal. Android has flat lined. Even declined.
      That was my first and last Android App. For now...

    2. Re:My app by slapout · · Score: 1

      I'm looking a using Xamarin Forms for my future apps so I can do iOS and Android with one codebase

      --
      Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
    3. Re:My app by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I started learning mobile dev on Xamarin.Forms. It's fairly competent, with some nice features and improvements coming soon. It comes with its own drawbacks. Dealing with WebView disposal can be a nightmare. And building an app with share extensions takes forever, with a bit of unadvertised XCode build trickery being required before archiving for release (at least, was still required last I checked).

      Having picked up react-native recently, I think I'll be heading down that path and leaving Forms behind. Starting to really 3 RN+redux. One codebase isn't all it's cracked up to be.

    4. Re:My app by kuzb · · Score: 1

      Too bad both markets are equally worthless. Designing a profitable mobile app these days is like winning the lottery, and even assuming you do some Chinese asshole reverse engineers it and steals all your work.

      --
      BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
    5. Re:My app by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Short-term profit emphasized over long-term profit doesn't lend well to perfecting function and managing consequences. Only a few ways to enforce equality, if it isn't done by choice, cooperatively, at scale. Nature does it when man is immovable, although we people aren't too often fond of the results, considering we all end up under the cascade. Even American assholes reverse engineer. Perhaps short sightedness blinds us to ourselves insomuch as to be unable or unwilling to fully address problems at their roots, before they bring infection and death to the whole poorly contrived system.

    6. Re:My app by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >I also get some really awful reviews, on Google Play, from a minority who think everything should be free (including Ad free).

      I've got news for you - in this era, based on my personal observation - the entitlement gene is found across ALL demographics. It does not discriminate.

      Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for my daily commute to work - 100 miles in the snow - uphill - with no feet.