Apple on Monday highlighted the continued development and expansion of its services in 2021, including the App Store, Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, Apple TV+, Apple News, Apple One, Apple Podcasts, Apple Books, Apple Card, Apple Pay, Wallet, Apple Maps, and iCloud+.
Apple’s senior vice president of Services Eddy Cue said, “Apple’s world-class portfolio of services proved essential in 2021, as people worldwide sought new ways to keep entertained, informed, connected, and inspired. With over 745 million paid subscriptions, Apple continues to connect the world’s developers, artists, and storytellers with users across more than a billion devices, delivering powerful tools, content, and experiences that enrich their lives in profound ways every day.”
On a Newsroom post, Apple recapped the best of 2021 and urged customers to look ahead to some of the great new games, movies, music, workouts, TV shows, podcasts, stories, guides, books and other experiences that await them in 2022.
Below are some noteworthy details Apple shared:
- Developers selling digital goods and services have earned more than $260 billion since the App Store first launched in 2008, which set a new yearly record for App Store developer earnings.
- App Store customers spent more than ever before between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in 2021, resulting to a double-digit growth compared to the previous year. Apple did not reveal a specific dollar amount.
- Customers used 30 million digital tickets in the Wallet app for music concerts, theater, sports games, and other events across the US and Canada in 2021.
- Apple TV+ has received 763 award nominations and 190 wins since it launched.
- Apple Fitness+ has expanded its library to feature nearly 2,000 studio-style sessions, the biggest library of workout content in 4K UHD, covering 11 different workout types including Strength, HIIT, Yoga, Dance and more, with new content added each week.
- Apple Arcade reached a milestone of over 200 premium, family-friendly games. Games included brand new releases from the world’s best developers, award-winning titles, and beloved favorites from the App Store — all without ads or in-app purchases.
Apple also announced the following upcoming features:
- iPhone and Apple Watch users can add their driver’s license or state ID to the Wallet app in selected US states later this year.
- Apple Music plans to launch a dedicated classical music app later this 2022, after acquiring classical music streaming service Primephonic last year.
- 3D Apple Maps will be made available in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver within the year.