Apple’s App Store is a big business for the company, and for the developers who support the ecosystem. A new study published by Analysis Group now says that the store generated a whopping $519 billion in sales and billings last year.
However, it’s important to note that the study doesn’t only look at app sales and in-app purchases. In fact, Analysis Group mentions that of the $519 billion, just $61 billion constitutes digital items. This is the part that Apple gets a 30% (or 15% depending on the length of subscription) cut from.
The study also counts in revenue and billings from things like streaming video subscriptions that may be purchased elsewhere but involve consumption of media on iOS devices. It’s also counting enterprise app services that are purchased by large companies. Apart from that, the study shows that in-app advertising is huge on iOS. The App Store generated $45 billion from in-app advertisements alone.
The remaining $413 billion comes from things like ride-sharing apps, food-delivery, and app-based retail services. Apple gets no cut from these billings, according to the study.
Apple is touting this study of late, because it needs developers and users to know that the App Store is a pretty solid economy in and of itself. However, primarily the company needs to project an image of the App Store not being a monopoly for Apple. The Cupertino giant is one of the tech giants who are being investigated by the US government for anti-competitive practices.
