According to CNBC’s analysis, Apple’s App Store generated $ 64 billion in revenue in 2020, an increase of 28 percent from the estimated $ 50 billion it made in 2019. This represents good growth for the App Store since the estimated increase between 2018 and 2019 was only 3.1 percent.
It is difficult to determine the exact reason for the increase in growth, but it probably had something to do with the COVID-19 pandemic. I can say from personal experience that in 2020 I bought quite a few more games than I did years before, as well as subscriptions to fitness and productivity programs to try to regain some control over my life during quarantine.
When Apple reports on its finances, it increases the money it earns from the App Store with its services revenue, which is by far the fastest growing category. The company cuts 30% of most of the money that comes into the App Store, which while reserved and exceptions, represents billions of dollars in revenue. Apple usually guards its taking with caution, despite recent setbacks from developers like Hey.com and even legal challenges from Epic.
However, its grip has only eased a bit recently, as Apple now only takes a 15 percent reduction from developers who earn less than $ 1 million a year from the App Store. This is unlikely to have a major change in revenue estimates, as analysts have estimated that the top 2 percent of App Store developers generate 95 percent of revenue.
Each year, Apple reports how much money it has paid out to developers since 2008. CNBC used it to calculate the App Store revenue by subtracting last year’s number from this year, then Apple’s 30 percent saving is responsible. Although the numbers are a bit rough, Apple does not report it itself, and all we can do is get close. Regardless, there are two things that are hard to reason: the App Store’s revenue has grown significantly this year and it has brought in a lot of money for both developers and Apple.