Apple has hailed 2015’s holiday season as the “biggest ever” following a record-breaking $1.1 billion in transactions in just two weeks.
The number, which encompassed both app purchases, and in-app purchases, included the biggest day in App Store history; January 1, 2016 saw customers spend more than $144 million. It broke a record set just one week previously: Christmas Day.
Apple also noted that it adds to the nearly $40 billion developers have made since the store launched in 2008. One-third of that happened in the last 12 months.
In a press release, Apple went on to report on the number of jobs it believes its created as a result of the App Store – this includes 1.9 million jobs in the US, and the previously reported 1.2m in Europe, and 1.4m in China.
Popular apps
It also detailed some of the most popular apps in 2015. Gaming, Social Networking and Entertainment proved some of this year’s most popular categories, specifically including the apps Minecraft: Pocket Edition, Trivia Crack, and Heads Up! while communication apps Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and Snapchat proved popular. Elsewhere, the top grossing titles were Clash of Clans, Monster Strike, and Game of War – Fire Age. Elsewhere, Apple reports the Netflix, Hulu and Match apps to be hugely popular.
“The App Store had a holiday season for the record books. We are excited that our customers downloaded and enjoyed so many incredible apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV, spending over $20 billion on the App Store last year alone,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We’re grateful to all the developers who have created the most innovative and exciting apps in the world for our customers. We can’t wait for what’s to come in 2016.”