Apple shares 2021 highlights: developers made $260B+ via the App Store since its debut, up from $200B+ YoY, US and Canadian consumers used 30M tickets in Wallet
Apple’s developer-payout milestones have risen from $40 billion paid out since 2008 in early 2016 to more than $70 billion in 2017 and more than $200 billion a year before this update. The new figure extends a long-running effort to present the App Store as an expanding developer economy.
The announcement also pairs App Store scale with Apple Wallet usage, framing services as a broader consumer-access layer rather than a single storefront. It follows strong holiday App Store spending that Apple used to characterize Services growth.
First-order effects
App Store developers gain Apple’s reported evidence that cumulative payouts increased by more than $60 billion year over year, strengthening the platform’s case to existing and prospective publishers.
Apple Wallet’s reported 30 million ticket uses in the U.S. and Canada give Apple a concrete adoption metric for a service beyond app purchases and media subscriptions.
Second-order effects
Developers and app businesses face a clearer incentive to prioritize Apple distribution as the payout total grows, while Apple gains a stronger narrative for retaining them on the store.
Ticket issuers and consumer venues have evidence of Wallet use at scale in two markets, making digital-ticket integration a more credible part of their Apple-facing distribution strategy.
Third-order effects
Apple’s services strategy is increasingly measured through ecosystem throughput—developer payouts, store spending, and Wallet activity—rather than through a single subscription product.
As the App Store becomes more economically central to developers and Apple, its distribution rules and take-rate model are likely to remain a focal point for platform participants and policymakers.
The trend: Apple is turning its services ecosystem into a broader commerce and access platform, with the App Store and Wallet supplying mutually reinforcing usage signals.
💰 How to make $13,000,000 on the App Store: (thread)
@deepakabbot
Deepak Abbot on x
Indian developers garnered 0.05% out of this 💁♂️ https://twitter.com/...
@t3mporarybl1p
@t3mporarybl1p on x
@paterfamilias Every tweet from Rene should include an advisory that he owns Apple shares...
@sub8u
Subrahmanyam Kvj on x
Apple paid out around $60 billion to App Store developers in 2021. $260 billion since 2008. Compare to the pre-2007 era of telco walled gardens and ridiculous 70%+ revenue share! https://techcrunch.com/...
@keleftheriou
@keleftheriou on x
What's the worst thing about this @AppStore app? - Claims to spoof your physical location (not possible) - $10/week ($520/year) subscription - Hundreds of fake reviews - Expired website certificate - Approved by Apple FIVE times https://apps.apple.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@keleftheriou
@keleftheriou on x
Scammers & fake reviewers are running circles around Apple's policing of the App Store: https://twitter.com/...
@paterfamilias
@paterfamilias on x
If you don't get enough corporate fluffing from Apple PR releases, Rene turns it up a notch. “Big Win” for both! https://twitter.com/...
@keleftheriou
@keleftheriou on x
3. Buy lots of fake reviews on a daily basis (notice the pattern of all these non-sensical reviewer “names"): https://twitter.com/...
@keleftheriou
@keleftheriou on x
1. Make a basic app people might be searching for, eg “Volume Booster”: https://twitter.com/...
@twostraws
Paul Hudson on x
💸 $60 billion paid out to App Store developers in a single year, by far the biggest year ever. There has never been a better time to learn app development with iOS, Swift, and SwiftUI - you can start changing your career today! Start here: https://hackingwithswift.com/ ... https:…
@twostraws
Paul Hudson on x
PS: If you're not sure what app to make, start with something that solves a problem you have - build an app that helps your favorite hobby or pastime, and with over 600 million people visiting the App Store *every week* even getting 1% of 1% of users is a great result.
@keleftheriou
@keleftheriou on x
4. Profit! Your app becomes the #135 highest-grossing app on the App Store, bringing in over $13 million since 2018: https://twitter.com/...
@keleftheriou
@keleftheriou on x
2. Charge an absurd $10/week (~$520/year) auto-renewing subscription that's easy to sign up for, but much harder to cancel: https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton
Casey Newton on x
... over the course of 13 years. Apple made $366 billion in 2021 alone, up 33% year over year https://twitter.com/...
@stevekovach
Steve Kovach on x
2021 was huge for the App Store. About $60 billion paid out to developers. That's about 23% of all cash paid to developers in one year since App Store launched in 2008. https://twitter.com/...
@reneritchie
Rene Ritchie on x
Big win. With increasing pressure on hardware margins, services margins not only mitigate, they start to accelerate — especially because they seem easier for biz-types to parse - - - - - “Apple services enrich peoples' lives throughout the year” https://www.apple.com/... https://…
@markgurman
Mark Gurman on x
On @theterminal: App Store devs made about $60 billion in '21. Apple says developers generated $260 billion since the store launched in '08. That number is up from the about $200 billion it reported last year. Revenue between Christmas Eve and New Years Eve up double-digits.
@johnvoorhees
John Voorhees on x
Apple has published a press release recapping its 2021 services, including a record-breaking holiday period for App Store sales. https://www.macstories.net/... https://twitter.com/...