Apple Is a Haven for Freeloaders

Rick Munarriz, The Motley Fool
Updated

Apple put out some pretty meaty round numbers in kicking off its WWDC powwow for developers on Monday.

  • There have been 50 billion downloads from the App Store since its debut five years ago.

  • A whopping $10 billion has been paid out to App Store's developers.

  • There are 575 million iTunes accounts tied to credit cards.

  • There are 900,000 applications presently available in the App Store, and 6 million developers have registered with the program.

These are big numbers, but simple math offers some grim statistics that aren't as flattering to Apple. Did you know that the average iTunes account has only shelled out roughly $26 for apps in its lifetime? Did you know that a developer is generating App Store revenue of just $0.30 per download, making it clear that most iPhone and iPad users are going for free apps?

In this video, longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz breaks down some of those conclusions -- and a few more surprising nuggets -- that should not only scare Apple, but also Google and Amazon.com , which have taken bigger margin sacrifices on the expectations of making it back through ecosystem spending.


The titans of tech
It's incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out "Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks?" in The Motley Fool's latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged by the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.

The article Apple Is a Haven for Freeloaders originally appeared on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com, Apple, and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com, Apple, and Google. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Originally published