Apple on Thursday announced that the first week of January set a new record for billings from the App Store, with customers around the world spending nearly half a billion dollars on apps and in-app purchases. It also revealed New Year’s Day 2015 marked the single biggest day ever in App Store sales history, as customers presumably used gift cards and took advantage of App Store sales.
“This year is off to a tremendous start after a record-breaking year for the App Store and our developer community,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We’re so proud of the creativity and innovation developers bring to the apps they create for iOS users and that the developer community has now earned over $25 billion.”
Furthermore, Apple announced it had a record-breaking 2014. The Cupertino-based company says billings rose 50 percent and apps generated over $10 billion in revenue for developers. App Store developers have earned a cumulative $25 billion from the sale of apps and games.
Apple launched a new website on Thursday, showing the jobs created by its ecosystem. It says more than one million jobs have been created to support Apple in the US.
Apple also bragged about its help in Global Fund to fight AIDS, saying it donated a $20 million this quarter, and since partnering with (RED) has donated over $100 million.
While there weren’t any new details for Apple Pay, the company reiterated that more banks and credit unions continue to add support for Apple Pay and it now represents about 90 percent of credit card purchase volume in the US.