FEATURE July 5, 2018

How Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ignited a Worldwide App Phenomenon  

When Apple introduced the App Store on July 10, 2008 with 500 apps, it ignited a cultural, social and economic phenomenon that changed how people work, play, meet, travel and so much more. Over the past decade, the App Store has created a safe place for users of all ages to get the very best apps and a vibrant app economy for developers of all sizes, from all over the world, to thrive. Today, customers in 155 countries are visiting the App Store more often, staying longer and downloading and using more apps than ever before.

Start-ups including Instagram, Calm, Uber and Instacart embraced features like the iPhone camera, Apple Pay, GPS and Location Services to deliver on-demand and personalized experiences, with many creating billion dollar businesses that started with apps in the App Store. At the same time, both traditional companies and those that started as websites, such as Twitter, Facebook, eBay, Yelp, Airbnb and Amazon, began building apps to meet changing customer behavior.

In 2011, the App Store started supporting subscription apps, and by 2016, had expanded support to all 25 of its categories, including Games, Kids and Health and Fitness. Over 28,000 iOS apps now offer subscriptions, including Netflix, iQiYi, Tinder, LinkedIn, Sing! By Smule, Headspace and Dropbox, making it easy for millions of new customers to instantly discover and sign up for or unsubscribe from these services. Subscriptions are up 95 percent from last year, and as of June 2018, developers have earned over $100 billion from the App Store.

Apple Watch and HealthKit paved the way for developers to make health, fitness and wellness apps more innovative, intelligent and interactive, which in turn have inspired customers to be more active and mindful of their health. Downloads for these apps have increased 75 percent since the launch of Apple Watch, led by apps such as Zova, Nike, Lose It!, Dexcom, One Drop, Glow, 10% Happier and Yoga Glo.

Richard Ellenson, developer and CEO, Cerebral Palsy Foundation: “In the world of assistive technology and accessibility, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of the App Store. For individuals with disabilities, for professionals, family members, and anyone who’s ever wondered about the potential in another person who had a bit of difference — or deeply significant challenges — the App Store has been profoundly transformational. I have seen it unleash possibility and potential in literally thousands of individuals. Yet, closest to my heart, I have seen it do so for my son: a bright, independent 20 year old who has Cerebral Palsy. My son moves about in a wheelchair, but that is simply the place from which his spirit soars. His voice comes from his iPad, he does his homework on iPad, his social life is rooted in the apps on iPad, he navigates his entertainment on iPad, and he has performed a thrilling one-man-show with his iPad. I cannot imagine my son's life without this technological magic. And I know so many others for whom this is also true. It’s not a reach to say the App Store has been the single greatest advance for accessibility — ever.”

Augmented reality is a transformational technology that brings virtual experiences into the real world, changing the way customers both work and play. In 2017, Apple introduced ARKit 1.0 and overnight iOS became the biggest AR platform in the world, available to hundreds of millions of iPhone and iPad users. Today, over 3,000 AR apps on the App Store, such as Kings of Pool, Alice in Wonderland AR Quest and Houzz, creating an even more engaging way for customers to shop, learn and play games. Apple delivered the third ARKit update to developers at WWDC in June 2018, making it possible for AR apps like LEGO to include shared experiences that allow multiple users to play a game or collaborate on projects, as well as persistent AR experiences that make it possible to start a puzzle on a table and come back to it later.