<\/p>\n This represents a major milestone for Apple. The App Store offers more than 425,000 apps, which give the iPhone<\/a> and iPad<\/a> incredible capabilities and add to the devices\u2019 wide appeal.<\/p>\n Despite CEO Steve Jobs<\/a>\u2018 initial reluctance to open an App Store \u2014 he had to be persuaded \u2014 the easy-to-use software marketplace became an immediate success for Apple. When it opened its virtual doors in 2008, the App Store garnered a massive 10 million downloads<\/a> in its first 72 hours.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the time, Jobs praised it as a \u201cgrand slam.\u201d However, those numbers turned out to be small fry compared to what Apple later managed. By comparison, these days we can pick and choose from nearly 2 million apps. App Store downloads hit about 40 billion during 2025.<\/p>\n The App Store undoubtedly got a boost<\/a> from the launch of the iPad in early 2010<\/a>, which gave developers a new platform to code apps for.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Successful Apple advertising slogans \u2014 like \u201cThere\u2019s an app for that\u201d \u2014 helped raise awareness of the deep iOS ecosystem. (That one became Apple\u2019s most memorable catchphrase since \u201cThink different<\/a>\u201d a decade earlier.)<\/p>\n \u201cIn just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace<\/a> the world has ever seen,\u201d said Phil Schiller, Apple\u2019s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, in a statement on July 7, 2011. \u201cThank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The 15 billion downloads put the App Store on a level with the iTunes Music Store<\/a>, which only reached that figure in mid-2011, despite launching five years earlier<\/a>.<\/p>\n The App Store continues to grow, and so do its benefits, for both Apple and developers.<\/p>\n After Apple announced that App Store developers generated $1.4 trillion in total billings and sales<\/a> in 2025, Apple CEO Tim Cook<\/a> said, \u201cDevelopers are the heartbeat of the App Store, and this year\u2019s incredible milestone is a testament to their boundless creativity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, change is on the horizon. Both in the United States and abroad, antitrust regulators view Apple\u2019s tight control of the App Store \u2014 and its healthy commission on app sales and in-app purchases \u2014 with increasing skepticism.<\/p>\n Legislation, including the European Union\u2019s Digital Markets Act<\/a>, is bringing sweeping change to the App Store\u2019s management. Apple has been forced to allow third-party app stores<\/a> and side-loading of iPhone apps in Europe. And the company faces huge potential fines as EU regulators find fault with Apple\u2019s compliance<\/a> with the DMA.<\/p>\n![\"July](\"https:\/\/www.cultofmac.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/7jul.jpg\" "\\"July")
July 7, 2011:<\/strong> Three years after its launch, the App Store<\/a> passes 15 billion downloads.<\/p>\nApp Store hits 15 billion downloads<\/h2>\n
![\"Apple's](\"https:\/\/www.cultofmac.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/app_store_15_billion.jpg\" "\\"App_store_15_billion\\"")
Photo: Apple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe world\u2019s top software marketplace<\/h3>\n
App Store hits 370 billion downloads<\/h3>\n