10 years of iOS app store history: data, lessons and trends

It’s been ten years since the iOS app store has been available to Apple users. So, there is a lot of app store history to tell because iOS revolutionized the world adding a new purpose to smartphones and implementing apps in our lives.

It would be impossible not talk about the ten years passed and how this history impacts what iOS is today. Check it out:

Throwback 2008

What we usually did when Spotify, Netflix, Facebook and Instagram didn’t exist or were not popular? To be honest, after app stores came to the world, I don’t remember what came before.

Jokes apart, Apple Store broke the internet with the possibility of having a cell phone and apps! In the beginning, the norm was more games and apps for entertainment but Apple just needed a little bit of time to prove that apps would be part of a user’s life.

Starting with just 500 apps, we could have never imagined that we will have more than two million apps. The rate of growth is impressive. Less than one year after  launch there were more apps available and more than one billion downloads.

Even though now we have different operating systems iOS has its peculiarities. First of all, everything that was considered new in the mobile world always was available for Apple before it was on any other platform.

And we have to mention that iOS operating system just works with Apple, as opposed to Android that works in a lot of devices. But this exclusivity made Apple desirable.

Proof of that is that almost part of iOS users don’t want to try another operating system, because they are fidelized and simply love what Apple provides them.

Going to 2010-2011

2010 was the year that Apple had a lot of visibility because they launched the iPad. The possibility of creating apps compatible with larger screens open a business of new apps and gets more people interested.

Already in 2011, apps start to work with In-App purchase. The facility of being able to transact inside the app and to be able to link the payment with the registered user in the Apple Store was very attractive to developers.

This fact just increased the number of apps in the app store, generating much more money. It’s no wonder that almost all app business made nowadays have the Apple Store as mediator for payment.

2012 until now

With iOS updates, the service became more complete. Since the implementation of Apple Store Search Ads, the possibility of requesting a review inside the app and in the app store became possible. Then iTunes and App analytics launched.

Our Iphones became part of our bodies and we can’t live without it, we can’t live without apps and all of this technology produced over those ten years. The concept of cell phone completely changed and Apple is responsible for that.

The projection for 2018 spells a beautiful future. But one thing is true, this is the app store that wants more quality than quantity, even thought a lot of apps are there. If you are interested about mobile news and App Store Optimization, don’t forget to subscribe the newsletter from RankMyApp!

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