A customer leaves after picking up Apple’s new 5G iPhone 12 which was offered for sale while the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues, in an Apple Store in Brooklyn, New York, October 23, 2020.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Apple’s App Store customers spent a record $ 540 million on New Year’s Day alone, up 40% from last year, the company said in its annual service report on Wednesday.
In addition, Apple announced that it generated $ 1.8 billion in App Store sales of digital goods in the week between Christmas Eve and now has 90 million active users per month for its Apple Books app.
But the report does not provide subscriber updates for its range of newer subscriber products such as Apple TV + (video streaming), Apple Music and Apple Fitness + (a competitor of Peloton). In the fall, Apple began bundling many of its subscription services as part of its Apple One app. The Services category is a key growth area that Apple has focused on over the past year as the growth in hardware sales has slowed.
Apple’s App Store update also comes as tensions continue to rise over Apple’s control over its App Store policies. Several app developers, most notably Facebook and Fortnite maker Epic Games, have publicly criticized Apple for taking a 30% reduction in developer app sales and for implementing a new policy designed to announce which programs are tracking your data for targeted ads. Apple recently changed its policy to take a 15% cut from businesses that generate less than $ 1 million in App Store sales, which the company said was a step to help small businesses.
Overall, Apple’s Services generated revenue of $ 53.8 billion in the company’s most recent financial year, which ended in September 2021. Apple is expected to report its fiscal earnings in the first quarter within a few weeks.
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