Apple's App Store is, arguably, the best thing to happen to the company in the last few years (not including the iPhone, but the two go hand in hand). It's certainly the biggest improvement to their iPhone and iPod touch platforms, and with over 40 million of those devices sold, it's no wonder that developers are keen to get their applications on the store. However, this isn't just a good place to get sales for developers... it's also a wonder for Apple itself, as, according to AppleInsider, it is bringing in nearly $200M monthly, adding up to approximately $2.4B annual revenue.
The estimation comes from the latest AdMob Mobile Metrics Report for July 2009, packing some interesting statistics. On average, an iPhone user will download about 10 applications monthly, with 2 to 3 of those being paid. To compare to this, your garden variety iPod touch owner will obtain around about 18 monthly, with 2 of those being purchased. With the normal iPhone user spending just short of $9.50 on the App Store, and iPod touch users spending slightly more, we get to our figure of about $200M a month. Some dispute the figure, though; one developer currently active on the store scoffed at the figure, believing that there's no truth to it at all.
True or not, this is certainly quite a hefty amount of cash, though it hasn't seemed to stop the various complaints that both consumers and developers have had with the store. With iTunes Connect issues, as well as appallingly long approval times for applications, there is certainly a ton of room for improvement. Recently, Apple senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing Phil Schiller has been responding to select developer's complaints, stating that they are actively working to improve the experience for all involved. Hopefully they make improvements soon, to save the trouble for those who keep the store afloat... the developers.
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