It's Good to Be the King: Apple's App Store Revenue Surges 22% in First Half of Year

A recent report has revealed that Apple’s App Store has seen significant success in recent months with consumers spending $41.5 billion in the first half of 2021 alone, almost double that of the Google Play Store. Apple’s App Store sales are up more than 22 percent even as the iPhone giant faces lawsuits and government regulations over the stranglehold it maintains on iOS app developers.

9to5Mac reports that according to recent data released by Finbold, consumers worldwide spent $41.5 billion on the Apple App Store in the first half of 2021. Apple’s App Store revenue so far this year almost doubles that of the Google Play Store which generated around $23.4 billion.

Tim Cook prays for good fortune

This March 19, 2018, file photo shows Apple’s App Store app in Baltimore. Apple has agreed to let developers of iPhone apps email their users about cheaper ways to pay for digital subscriptions and media by circumventing a commission system that generates billions of dollars annually for the iPhone maker. The concession announced late Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021 is part of a preliminary settlement of a nearly 2-year-old lawsuit filed on behalf of iPhone app developers in the U.S. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

This year’s App Store sales figures represent a growth of 22.05 percent from a similar period in 2020. Spending on both the Apple App Store and Google Play store recorded a growth of 24.8 percent year-over-year reaching $64.9 billion.

Finbold states in its report:

Mobile app spending grew in 2021 mainly due to consumer behavior resulting from the containment measures around the coronavirus pandemic. (…) From the H1 spending, the outstanding assumption is that consumers’ demand might not be slowing down, considering that most global jurisdictions have eased the pandemic control measures with the vaccine rollout.

According to Finbold’s analysis, although App Store spending was high, Google Play has also been improving. Google Play recorded the highest growth rate between H1 2020 and H1 2021, 30 percent year-0ver-year.

BERLIN, GERMANY – JANUARY 22: Philipp Justus (L), Vice President Google Central Europe, Sundar Pichai (C), CEO of Google and Senior Director Public Policy and Government Relations Annette Kroeber-Riel (R) pose for the media before the festive opening of the Berlin representation of Google Germany on January 22, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. The official opening will take place tonight with Berlin Mayor Michael Muller. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

Finbold further noted that the top three grossing mobile apps worldwide for H1 2021 are TikTok, YouTube, and Tinder. While TikTok and YouTube primarily rely on advertising as a key revenue stream, some apps such as Tinder offer premium features that can be acquired via in-app purchases — all of which Apple receives a 15 to 30 percent cut from.