revenue

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on revenue:

Apple ad revenue could hit $11 billion a year by 2025

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AppleTV+
How are Apple Originals looking on your TV?
Photo: Roku

The money Apple earns from advertising could rise to a whopping $11 billion a year by 2025, one analyst says.

Cupertino currently rakes in around $2 billion a year from ad revenue. The recent launch of Apple TV+ provides an opportunity for that to skyrocket over the next six years.

But will Apple really take advantage of it?

Battle royale games rake in $2 billion on mobile alone

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Fortnite on Android
Fortnite isn't top of the list, but there's a catch.
Photo: Epic Games

Battle royale games have now raked in more than $2 billion on Android and iOS, according to the latest data.

Fortnite and competing titles like PUBG Mobile earned an estimated $476 million during the first quarter of 2019 alone. A surprising title leads in player spending — but there is a catch.

Apple’s newest services lack ‘depth,’ analysts warn

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Apple TV+ could have 26 million paying subs by 2025; 2.6 million currently
Apple TV+ could have 26 million paying subs by 2025; 2.6 million currently
Photo: Apple

Apple’s newest services don’t deliver the “depth” investors want to see as iPhone sales fall for the Cupertino company.

Some analysts are particularly disappointed with the upcoming Apple TV+ video streaming service. They don’t believe Apple has any hope of competing with Netflix.

Spotify files complaint against Apple’s ‘unfair’ App Store fees

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Spotify is adding 2x as many monthly subscribers as Apple Music
Spotify is adding 2x as many monthly subscribers as Apple Music
Photo: Spotify

Spotify has filed a legal complaint against Apple for what it believes is anti-competitive behavior.

The music streaming service, like many others, has an issue with the 30 percent cut Apple charges on App Store revenue. Spotify says Apple makes it very difficult to avoid the fee, which makes some services more expensive.

App Store made almost twice as much as Google Play in 2018

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App Store
Apple apps no longer dominate App Store search results.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The App Store raked in almost twice as much revenue as Google Play in 2018, despite significantly fewer downloads.

Google’s marketplace did enjoy a 27.3 percent rise in gross app revenue year-over-year — a larger rise than Apple’s — but iOS remains the most lucrative platform for developers by far.

Apple wildly underestimates demand for cheap iPhone batteries

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Right to Repair
Apple's first 5nm chips are expected to ship in iPhone and iPad this year.
Photo: iFixit

Apple reportedly replaced a whopping 11 million iPhone batteries last year — 10 times as many as anticipated.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has already cited this as one of the reasons why new iPhone sales are slowing. It is believed the company expected to perform between 1 and 2 million replacements under its heavily-discounted $29 program.

Slowing iPhone sales cause Apple suppliers to suffer

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iphone XS
It’s not just Apple that’s feeling the impact.
Photo: Apple

Slowing iPhone sales aren’t just bad news for Apple.

Foxconn, the company’s largest manufacturing partner, is also suffering as a result of weakening iPhone demand, with revenue for December falling 8.3 percent year-over-year.

It’s the first time Foxconn has experienced a drop in revenue in almost a year.

Samsung also suffers as smartphone sales slump in China

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Apple isn't the only one suffering in China.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

It turns out Apple isn’t the only smartphone maker that’s suffering from falling sales in China. Samsung, one of the iPhone’s biggest rivals, is also expected to follow Apple in confirming lower than anticipated revenue for the fourth quarter of 2018.

The South Korean company’s warning, which will reportedly come on Tuesday, will reveal a 12 percent fall in year-on-year operating profit for the three-month period. Revenue is also expected to drop 5 percent.

Apple’s holiday quarter earnings could be insane

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Tim Cook earnings apple
Apple earnings could be about to reach new heights.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple enjoyed an incredible start to 2018 thanks to a record-breaking holiday quarter, but according to one analyst, this year’s will be even better.

Thanks to an impressive new iPhone lineup and the best Apple Watch yet, revenue could reach insane new heights as we see out 2018. iPhone sales alone are predicted to surpass a staggering 81 million units!

Google could miss out on $50 million following Fortnite snub

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Fortnite on Android
Fortnite isn't top of the list, but there's a catch.
Photo: Epic Games

Google could miss out on a $50 million payday this year alone as a result of Epic Games’ decision not to distribute Fortnite for Android through the Play Store.

Android users must download the game directly from Epic‘s own website instead. This allows the company to sidestep Google’s 30 percent cut of all revenue.

Apple shares fall after iPhone chipmaker cuts sales forecast

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iPhone X laying down
I wanted a Galaxy S10, but I'm stuck with iPhone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple shares fell 3 percent this morning after iPhone chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) cut its revenue forecast for the second quarter of 2018.

The company and industry analysts point to weak demand for high-end smartphones as the main reason for the poor guidance. This likely has something to do with the fact that iPhone X sales have been in the gutter since early hype quickly died out late last year.

Apple Watch Series 3 will bring big boost for one supplier

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apple watch bands
Apple Watch Series 3 needs to be special.
Photo: Apple

One Apple supplier is expected to enjoy a significant boost from Apple Watch Series 3.

Quanta Computer is likely to see strong revenues during the second half of 2017 ahead of an Apple Watch refresh this fall — despite the addition of Compal Electronics, another manufacturer, being added to the supply chain.

2017 App Store revenue crushes Apple’s entire 2007 earnings

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App Store icon
Business is booming for the App Store.
Photo: PhotoAtelier/Flickr

Apple is making more revenue off the App Store alone in 2017 than it did in all of 2007, according to a new study that analyzed Apple’s money-printing app empire.

When the iPhone launched in 2007, Steve Jobs absolutely refused to let third-party apps on his beloved device. Fast forward ten years later and not it’s not just hard to imagine the iPhone without the App Store. It’s hard to imagine Apple being as profitable without it.

Devs reveal the good, bad and ugly about Mac App Store

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Mac App Store
The email app BlueMail finds itself on the outside of the "closed garden."
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

For users, the Mac App Store makes finding, purchasing, and downloading new software a breeze. But is the experience as enjoyable for the developers behind that software?

Setapp surveyed over 700 macOS developers to find out what they really think of Apple’s marketplace. The results give us an interesting insight into the challenges they face when choosing the Mac App Store, whether life is better without it, and how Apple has improved.

The Apple Watch business is way bigger than you think

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apple watch bands
Apple Watch Series 3 needs to be special.
Photo: Apple

Apple Watch gets a lot of stick for being a “me-too” product, and people who don’t see the need for a smartwatch assume the business is a bust. There’s this crazy perception that Apple Watch is just not selling — but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Apple Watch, alongside other Apple wearables, is now raking in billions of dollars every year. The business is huge. So huge, in fact, that it would be a Fortune 500 company all by itself, outselling supposed smash hits like Microsoft’s Surface tablets and the Amazon Echo.

Here’s why Apple Watch isn’t the flop you think it is.

Apple expected to announce record revenues today

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money
Apple's earnings call will take place later today!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has its first quarter earnings call for fiscal 2017 today, and if you’re an investor — or just an Apple fan — signs point to it being a great one.

With revenue having declined year-on-year for the past three quarters, investors expect today’s announcement to reveal that Apple is rebounding.

Pokémon GO raked in almost $1 billion last year

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Pokemon GO
Pokémon GO made $800m faster than any other game.
Photo: Niantic

Pokémon GO raked in almost $1 billion in 2016, despite being available for only half of the year.

Niantic’s hit was downloaded over 500 million times in a few short months after making its debut last July, and it made $600 million faster than any other mobile game, according to the experts at App Annie.

iOS revenue to surpass $1 trillion this year

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iPhone 7
iOS sales are about to hit a major milestone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s revenues generated from the iOS ecosystem will surpass $1 trillion sometime this year, according to one analyst.

By mid-2017, the company is forecast to have sold a whopping 1.2 billion iPhones, while collective sales of all iOS devices will surpass 1.75 billion units.

App Store made $240M on New Year’s Day to shatter sales records

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You don't need to go through the App Store to install apps now.
The App Store continues to impress.
Photo: Apple

The App Store opened 2017 with a massive bang by shattering sales records. New Year’s Day was its single busiest day ever, with $240 million raised from app purchases.

The record caps an incredibly successful 2016 for iOS developers, who earned a whopping $20 billion last year — up over 40 percent from 2015.