App Store customers spent a record breaking $1.8 billion in apps during the week of Christmas Eve and New Year’s, also hitting a new single-day spending record on New Year’s Day of more than $540 million. These purchases were largely driven by demand of games. Apple mentioned that most of the apps bought were those that helped customers stay connected and be entertained, like Zoom and Disney+, as well as games like Roblox and Among Us.
The new Shanghai-based gaming company miHoYo set a record for the most successful launch week ever on the App Store with its runaway hit “Genshin Impact.” Another record set was the most amount ($1.42 billion) spent on the purchase of apps and games, in the holiday week in 2020 excluding New Year’s, though Apple remained silent on this fact.
Apple music received its biggest product update yet this year which included new features like Listen Now, an all-new Search, personal radio stations, and Autoplay. Apple reported that nearly 90% of iOS 14 listeners have used these new features since its introduction. With the capacity to provide more than 70 million songs, Apple music established a record wherein more time was spent by people listening to Apple Music, over any year.
Apple also noted its new Apple TV app is now available on over 1 billion screens in over 100 countries and regions. The app was launched on many platforms such as LG, Sony, and VIZIO smart TVs, and PlayStation and Xbox consoles in 2020. Taking benefit of the Covid-19 lockdown, the tech-giant also featured free movies and TV shows throughout the year to help consumers stay entertained. Apple TV also provides direct access to premium channels like CBS All Access, Disney+, Peacock, HBO Max, and discovery+.
Another successful venture for the California-based pioneer was Apple News. The service was able to generate a lot of hype, thanks to interesting offerings such as personalized and curated local news in select US cities and Apple News+ audio which provides narrated versions of the most thought-provoking feature stories. However, Apple did not offer any new metrics related to user adoption or growth regarding Apple News.
Along with Apple TV and Appstore, Apple Pay too took advantage of the circumstances that were imposed on its users as well. With contactless payment, using the iPhone or Apple Watch became more convenient. More than 90 percent of stores in the US, 85 percent of stores in the UK, and 99 percent of stores in Australia accept Apple Pay now.
Regarding the other apps that Apple provides, Apple Books has over 90 million monthly active users, while Apple Arcade boasts over 140 gaming titles. Apple Podcasts is present in over 175 countries and more than 100 languages.
