Apple Had a Record July for Its App Store Business
Key Updates from Apple: Apple Music, the App Store, and More
July was a record month for Apple’s App Store business
In the previous part of this series, we discussed how the European Commission’s attention has now shifted from investigating the music streaming industry to investigating Apple’s (AAPL) App Store business. It’s looking to see whether Apple is stifling competition for its own good. Despite these regulatory issues, Apple’s App Store business continues to thrive.
According to a report from USA Today citing Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president, July 2015 was a record month for Apple’s App Store, which recorded $1.7 billion in transactions. He also mentioned that since the launch of the App Store in 2008, developers have earned $33 billion, up from $25 billion at the end of 2014.
Apple’s App Store also beats Google (GOOG) Play comfortably when it comes to monetization. Apple’s App Store earned 70% more revenue than Google Play in 1Q15—despite Google Play having more apps than Apple’s App Store. According to a report from AppFigures, and as the chart below shows, Google had about 1.4 million apps in its app store in 2014 compared to about 1.2 million apps on Apple’s platform. Amazon (AMZN) came third on this list with about 300,000 apps on its platform.
China is driving App Store growth
The main driver of this App Store growth was China (FXI), according to Cue. China remains Apple’s most important market. In the June-ending quarter, Apple’s revenues from Greater China (EWT)—Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China—grew at a year-over-year rate of 112%. However, competition has risen against Apple in China, which is why the company lost its top smartphone position last quarter. We covered this change in Why Did Apple Lose Its Top Smartphone Position in China?
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