Apple App Store Drives Record $1.4 Trillion In Billings And Sales With 90% Commission-Free

InnovationConsumer TechApple App Store Drives Record $1.4 Trillion In Billings And Sales With 90% Commission-FreeByDavid Phelan,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about lifestyle techFollow AuthorJun 04, 2026, 02:16pm EDTApple's App Store is thriving, the company says.AppleApple’s latest announcement before the arrival of the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, June 8, concerns App Store billings and sales which in 2025 hit a record level: $1.4 trillion. Let’s unpack what that really means.ForbesApple iOS 27 Release Date: When You Can Download And Test The New iPhone UpdateBy David PhelanApple’s App Store has come a long way since it was launched in 2008 with Sega’s Super Monkey Ball and iBeer, which used the accelerometer to simulate a pint of beer being poured and then drunk (both were sensational, by the way, and I miss them).Unpacking The $1.4 Trillion EcosystemA new study shows that the App Store ecosystem facilitated developer billings and sales at a record level in 2025: $1.4 trillion. For instance, that means that physical goods and services which went through the App store came to $1.137 trillion, made up of general retail, travel, food delivery and pickup, groceries and ride hailing. In other words, the Uber and Lyft rides, for instance, booked through the App Store were part of this global total. How AI Is Driving GrowthAI has also become a bigger part of the store in recent years, with over 40 of the top 100 apps on the storefront using AI capabilities which are consumer-facing. It was these apps which saw stronger growth among the top 100. AI-oriented apps saw four times more growth, Apple said. if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.src = '//cd.elemen...