Developers earned US$13 billion from Apple's App Store in 2016, the company said today, adding that purchases from the store had hit a US$144 million on New Year's day, a record for a single day.
The previous record was set on Christmas Day.
Since 2008, the App Store had brought in nearly US$40 billion for developers, Apple said. It claimed that it had created and supported nearly 1.9 million jobs in the US largely as a result of the App Store's success.
The jobs estimate was based on research by Dr Michael Mandel at the Progressive Policy Institute.
{loadposition sam08}During the two weeks which ended on 3 January, the company said that US$1.1 billion was spent on apps and in-app purchases, setting back-to-back weekly records.
The company said 75% of the jobs were attributable to the creators, software engineers and and entrepreneurs who build apps for iOS. This included non-IT jobs supported through the app economy.
Gaming, social networking and entertainment were among the year's most popular App Store categories across Apple products.
The company said the new Apple TV’s most popular apps included Rayman Adventures, Beat Sports and HBO NOW.
Chart-topping apps for Apple Watch owners included fitness apps Nike+ Running and Lifesum, and iTranslate and Citymapper in the travel category.