Yesterday Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) celebrated the tenth anniversary of the App Store which originally launched on July 10, 2008 with 500 apps. Now the App Store serves customers in 155 countries, and 500 million visitors go to the App Store every week. The App Store has more than 2 million apps, 20 million registered developers and revenues over $100 billion, according to The Verge. Apple shared some notable moments in the App Store’s 10-year history, including the following.

1. The App Store created a platform where developers, large and small, could easily distribute their apps to consumers.
2. The App Store created new opportunities for mobile-first businesses to thrive. Keith Shepherd and Natalie Luckyanova, founders of Imangi Studios, have created more than 10 games including the popular Temple Run which has been downloaded more than a billion times.
3. Well-known start-ups like Instagram and Uber used Apple features including the iPhone camera, Apple Pay and GPS and location services to create personalized experiences for customers.
4. Mobile gaming grows beyond expectations with popular games like Angry Birds, Words with Friends, Candy Crush Saga and Pokémon Go.
5. In-app purchases (IAP) changed how customers access and pay for software and services, says Horace Dediu, an analyst for Asymco, creating opportunities for businesses to become successful. As of June 2010, $1 billion was paid to developers through IAP and paid apps.
6. The addition of subscriptions provided new revenue-generating opportunities for developers, starting in 2011. By 2016, the App Store supported 25 categories of subscriptions. Subscriptions are up 95 percent from 2017.
7. The App Store has helped the streaming video on-demand market grow with customers downloading subscription services like Netflix, Hulu and HBO Now to their iOS devices.
8. The App Store has facilitated discovery for apps that customers might not otherwise have known about or tried.

According to App Annie, as of July 9, 2018, these were the top apps in the App Store, including in-app purchases and subscription services.

What’s next for Apple? In June, Apple previewed an all-new Mac App Store with a new look and editorial content, making it easier to find Mac apps. This redesign comes a year after the App Store’s redesign. The redesigned Mac App Store, available this fall with macOS Mojave, features a new Discover tab that features apps, stories, interviews, tips and more.

“Since its launch in 2011, the Mac App Store has become the single largest catalog of Mac apps and today remains the safest and best place to get Mac apps for users around the world,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, a statement. “We are excited to usher in a new era for the Mac App Store with a beautiful new look, unique editorial content and emphasis on human curation that complements the ways people are using their Macs today.”

Insider Take:

Over the last 10 years, the App Store has evolved with the changing needs of consumers and has not only kept up with technology but it has set the pace with iOS. In the last few years, we have seen a friendlier environment for developers which has no doubt contributed to the success of the App Store. By taking a reduced revenue share and making subscription options available to developers, developers have more opportunities to earn revenue which they can then reinvest in app updates and new apps.