App Store Generates $300 Million in New Year’s Day Rush

Apple has confirmed that customers right around the globe made more than $300 million in purchases on the App Store during New Year’s Day.

In all, the week starting from Christmas Eve proved to be a lucrative period for the company, with record numbers of people downloading apps and games from the App Store. They spent more than $890 million across these seven days.

The tech giant achieved these feats thanks to the success of popular games and apps such as Monument Valley 2, King of Glory, Calm and Affinity Photo., Clash of Clans, Candy Crush Saga, Enlight Videoleap, 1Password and Hulu.

Last September, the company unveiled a redesigned version of the App Store, which it claims has made finding apps and games easier and more enjoyable. Currently, around half a billion people visit the store weekly.

“The Today tab on the new App Store makes it even easier to discover new apps and games with columns including App of the Day and Game of Day,” explained the firm.

Pokemon Go was one of the most downloaded apps over Christmas, and the latest version uses Apple’s ARKit to create more dynamic gameplay in the real world.

According to Apple, the app catapulted to the summit of the store on December 21 after the launch of several new augmented reality features.

AR has been massive hit for Apple, and customers have access to some 2,000 ARKit-enabled apps. The firm said these apps span a plethora of categories.

“Among the most popular AR titles are games such as CSR Racing 2, Stack AR and Kings of Pool; shopping apps like Amazon and Wayfair; education apps including Night Sky and Thomas & Friends Minis; and social media apps including Pitu and Snapchat,” said Apple.

Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple, applauded the app development community for contributing to these milestones.

“We are thrilled with the reaction to the new App Store and to see so many customers discovering and enjoying new apps and games,” he said

“We want to thank all of the creative app developers who have made these great apps and helped to change people’s lives. In 2017 alone, iOS developers earned $26.5 billion — more than a 30 percent increase over 2016.”