San Francisco, Jan 11 (IANS): Developers selling digital goods and services on Apple App Store have earned more than $260 billion since the App Store launched in 2008 and in 2021 alone, the tech giant paid developers a record $60 billion.
In 2020, Apple said it had paid $200 billion to App Store developers to date.
App Store's global platform connects businesses of all sizes with over 600 million people each week across 175 countries, Apple said in a statement late on Monday.
It led to developers selling digital goods and services earning more than $260 billion since the App Store launched in 2008.
"This significant number sets a new yearly record for App Store developer earnings while representing just a small fraction of the overall commerce the App Store facilitates, serving as one meaningful marker of how the ecosystem continues to create opportunities and drive economic expansion for entrepreneurs around the world," said the company.
This holiday season alone, App Store customers spent more than ever before between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, driving double-digit growth from last year.
The company said that Apple Music now offers listeners one of the largest music catalogues ever, now featuring over 90 million songs all available in lossless audio, so that fans can hear music the way artists created it.
"In just two years, Apple TV+ has made streaming history by achieving major milestones in a short span of time. Apple TV+ has been honoured with 763 award nominations and 190 wins, including Academy Award and BAFTA Award nominations, 12 Primetime Emmy Award wins across major programme categories," Apple announced.
Last year, Apple Arcade's award-winning library of games saw its biggest expansion yet, now offering players of all ages over 200 premium, family-friendly games, including brand new releases from the worlda¿s best developers.
Apple News also continues to be the number one news app in all markets where it is available.
In 2021, Apple News launched local news experiences in six additional cities a" Charlotte, Miami, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, and Washington, D.C., and introduced the extremely popular "Read Local" collection that encourages a national audience to engage with the best stories from local publications every week.
In the yearly roundup, the company said that Apple One Individual and Apple One Family are available in over 100 countries and regions, while Apple One Premier is now available in over 20 countries and regions after expanding to 17 new markets last year.
"With Family Sharing, Apple One Family and Apple One Premier subscribers can share access to each service among up to five family members," said Apple.