App-y holidays: Apple says Jan. 1 biggest day for app store

The company raked in $1.1 billion from app sales and in-app purchases between December 20, 2015 and January 3, 2016. This Jan. 1 saw $144 million in sales, breaking the record previously set days before on Christmas Day, according to the Verge. The previous record had been set, you guessed it, on Christmas Day the week before.

Apple had an app-y holiday season. Schiller said he is grateful to all the unbelievable developers who have created the exciting and innovative apps for the customers.

As imagined, most apps and in-app purchases were made in the App Store during the holiday season.

Apple claimed records this time a year ago, too, when it sold $500 million worth of apps over the same period.

Among the year’s most popular App Store categories were gaming, social networking and entertainment, Apple said, pointing to such apps as Minecraft: Pocket Edition, Trivia Crack, Facebook Messenger, WeChat and Snapchat. Apple Store Ginza is Apple’s 73rd retail store, and it is the first store outside the U.S. Since Apple keeps 30 cents for every dollar spent in its virtual storefront, that netted it about $6 billion in revenue for the year. The company also stated that it’s “responsible for creating and supporting 1.9 million jobs in the USA alone”.

The Mac maker’s broader services segment, which includes the App Store, has generated almost $20 billion in revenue during the past four quarters. Dawson’s $14.7 billion developer cut, plus the cumulative $25 billion figure from 12 months ago, equaled $39.7 billion, matching Apple’s “nearly $40 billion” number. Rayman Adventures, Beat Sports and HBO NOW are the favourites on the Apple TV while Nike+ Running is apparently a must-have amongst Apple Watch owners.

Adding to the iPhone slowdown speculation: Reuters reported Wednesday that Foxconn, a chief supplier for Apple and other technology companies, is taking the unusual step of slashing employee work hours for a weeklong holiday, suggesting the possibility of lower demand for devices. It could be argued Apple still runs the more successful store though.

Dawson’s estimates of App Store’s gross revenue per in-use iOS device shows a surge toward $25 starting in late 2012.