Apple kicked off 2018 with a bang. Though we’re still a few weeks away from finding out how iPhone sales stacked up during the holiday, Apple this afternoon put out a press release announcing that app sales on New Year’s Day alone generated more than $300 in revenue.
Additionally, Apple boasts that during a 7-day period starting on Christmas Eve, the company saw a record number of customers purchase and download apps from the App Store. When the dust settled, Apple from December 24 through December 30 raked in $890 million in revenue from the App Store.
“We are thrilled with the reaction to the new App Store and to see so many customers discovering and enjoying new apps and games,” Phil Schiller said in a prepared statement. “We want to thank all of the creative app developers who have made these great apps and helped to change people’s lives.”
As for how the overall app economy is doing, Apple notes that iOS developers over the last 12 months raked in $26.5 billion, a figure which is 30% higher than what iOS developers earned in 2016. Going back even further, Apple notes that developers have earned more than $86 billion since the App Store first opened up for business way back in July of 2008.
Apple’s press release also adds:
Pokémon GO went back to the top of the App Store charts on December 21 with the introduction of new augmented reality features, built on Apple’s ARKit framework for more detailed and realistic gameplay. Customers are now enjoying close to 2,000 ARKit-enabled apps spanning every category on the App Store. Among the most popular AR titles are games such as CSR Racing 2, Stack AR and Kings of Pool; shopping apps like Amazon and Wayfair; education apps including Night Sky and Thomas & Friends Minis; and social media apps including Pitu and Snapchat.
