Apple's App Store Sales Increased 50% In 2014, Says Company

Feeling guilty for constantly being glued to your iPhone or iPad? Fret not, looks like a lot of other people are addicted to their iOS-based devices as well. Apple Inc. recently revealed that its App Store sales increased 50 percent during 2014.

The Cupertino-based company said its total revenue from paid apps and purchases made within apps from mobile devices rose from more than $10 billion in 2013 to approximately $15 billion in 2014. Since Apple keeps 30 cents of every dollar that’s spent in the addictive App Store, the company’s take was around $4.5 billion last year.

Overall, this is only a minor portion of the consumer electronics and software brand's revenue. The company pulled in $183 billion in annual sales last year, and analysts predict that the brand is still growing. Financial data provider S&P CapitalIQ estimates that Apple’s revenue grew 10 percent in 2014.

The first week of 2015 also set a record for App Store income, with users spending nearly half a billion dollars on apps and in-app purchases within seven days.

"This year is off to a tremendous start after a record-breaking year for the App Store and our developer community," Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet software and services, said in a press release on Thursday. "We're so proud of the creativity and innovation developers bring to the apps they create for iOS users and that the developer community has now earned over $25 billion."

Apple launched its highly coveted iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on Sept. 19, 2014. Preorders of the phones exceeded 4 million units within the first 24 hours of availability, setting a new record for the company. Within the first three days of the phones’ launches, more than 10 million devices were sold, setting another record.

The company’s net income for 2014 totaled $39.5 billion. Apple released the figures as part of a new initiative to draw attention to its contribution to the U.S. economy.