Apple made $64 bn from App Store in Covid-hit 2020: Report

Apple made a record $64 billion in revenue from its App Store in 2020, 28 per cent increase from an estimated $50 billion the tech giant generated from the App Store in 2019. According to an analysis by CNBC, this marks a solid growth for the App Store since the estimated increase between 2018 and 2019 was only 3.1 per cent. Apple made $48.5 billion in 2018 from its App Store.

"App Store sales growth accelerated strongly during the Covid-19 pandemic," the report said on Friday. It's hard to say the exact reason for the growth spike, but it likely has something to do with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beginning this year, Apple is charging smaller developers who make less than $1 million per year on its platforms 15 per cent fee, instead of 30 per cent. If a participating developer surpasses the $1 million threshold, the standard commission rate will apply for the remainder of the year, Apple said.

Apple said the new "App Store Small Business Programme" will benefit the vast majority of developers who sell digital goods and services on the store, providing them with a reduced commission on paid apps and in-app purchases.

The company has paid developers $200 billion since 2008, up $45 billion from the figure that was announced in January 2020. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic that affected Apple's retail operation globally, the company has exceeded its internal financial targets in the past fiscal year.

Every year, Apple reports how much money it has paid out to developers since 2008. CNBC used that to calculate the App Store revenue number by subtracting last year's number from this year's, then it accounts for Apple's 30 percent cut. While the numbers may be a little rough, Apple doesn't self-report them, so all we can do is get close. Regardless, two things are quite clear: the App Store's revenue grew significantly this year, and it brought in a lot of money for both developers and Apple.