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Being iPhone only didn't stop Instagram from launching, getting huge, and branching out to other platforms. If this allows you to make a quicker prototype, it's a big deal.



That was when Steve Jobs was still alive. Things have changed. iOS isn't the gold mine it used to be.


If iOS was a goldmine when Steve Jobs died than it's a much larger one now.

When Jobs died in 2011 the iPhone represented 40% of Apple's revenue and generated $3.6 billion in App Store revenue.

In 2016, the iPhone represented 60% of Apple's revenue and the App Store generated $28 billion.

Hardware chart https://edge.alluremedia.com.au/uploads/businessinsider/2017...

App Store revenue 2011 https://www.google.cz/amp/s/9to5mac.com/2011/07/07/apple-iss...

App Store revenue in 2016 https://www.google.cz/amp/www.zdnet.com/google-amp/article/a...


The only downside to this wild success is that profit is a lot more concentrated than it used to be. It's really hard to bust onto the charts as an outsider when there's so many incumbents.

For example, sucks to be someone who launched a game this week when Monument Valley 2 took over everything.


It's still a massively popular and profitable platform, though the easy money is harder to find.




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