Apple has announced that customers have downloaded over 40 billion apps, with nearly 20 billion in 2012 alone.
The App Store has over 500 million active accounts and had a record-breaking December with over two billion downloads during the month.
Developers have earned over seven billion dollars from selling iPhone apps so far.
“It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store, and we continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world.”
In 2012, the husband and wife team at Imangi Studios saw their game Temple Run downloaded more than 75 million times; Backflip Studios and Supercell, two emerging game development studios, brought in over $100 million combined for their leading freemium titles DragonVale and Clash of Clans; and emerging services including Uber, Flipboard, HotelTonight, and AirBnB attracted millions of users on iOS.
The 40 billion downloads figure excludes any re-downloads and updates.