2019 was the biggest year for Apple services; here’s why

Apple says that the sales on its App Store between Christmas Eve and New Year's in 2019 grew 16 per cent over the past year.

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Apple says its App Store has hit new records last year. (Image: Apple)

In 2019, Apple focussed on the products other than iPhones and introduced a range of new services including the Apple TV Plus video streaming service, Apple Arcade game program, news service Apple News+, and the Apple Card. The company says that its Apple Music and iCloud services witnessed continued growth whereas its App Store hit new records in the year.

According to Apple, the App Store was launched in 2008, and developers have earned over $155 billion out of which, a quarter of these earnings came from the past year alone.

Apple said that the App Store saw strong growth, especially during the holidays. As per the company, in 2019, the customers spent a record $1.42 billion on its App Store during the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, which is a 16 per cent increase over the same period in 2018.

The revenue for the developers came from the individual purchases of various programs, purchases of in-app items, as well as subscriptions to music and video services. Apple said that the purchases on the App Store were so high that on New Year’s Eve day, the company registered a new single-day record of $386 million, which is 20 per cent higher than the last year’s sales, Apple said.

“We begin the new decade with incredible momentum and gratitude to our customers who have shown such enthusiasm for all of our services,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of internet software and services, said in a statement.

Read our review of the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Apple also announced the top free and paid apps from its App Store. Under the ‘free’ category, YouTube topped the chart followed by Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Messenger. Under the ‘paid’ category, the Facetune app topped the chart followed by HotSchedules and Dark Sky Weather. Mario Kart Tour emerged as the top ‘free’ game and the Minecraft became the top ‘paid’ game at the App Store.

Apple’s announcements coincide with the second day of CES. (Image: Apple)

Apple’s announcements coincide with the second day of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) happening in Las Vegas. While the company has continued to skip the annual technology event for 28 years straight, this year around, Apple send its senior director of global privacy, Jane Horvath, to participate in a roundtable discussion with representatives from Facebook, the Federal Trade Commission and Proctor & Gamble.

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Apple’s announcement of the App Store’s growth comes clubbed with a recap of the services announced by the company last year. The declining sales of iPhones pushed the tech giant to invest in services that go around with its hardware including the Apple TV Plus, Apple News Plus, Apple Arcade, and the Apple Card.

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