App Store: Turning Ten and Still Getting Better

It may seem hard to believe, but the App Store will turn ten this month.

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THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

It may seem hard to believe, but the App Store will turn ten this month. Whether you want to hail a cab, order a meal, split a bill, find a new partner or buy a house, there’s an app on the App Store for practically all of our needs, with new innovative technologies entering the market every day.

Before the Store was released with the iPhone 3G, Steve Jobs was dead set against the idea, arguing third-party apps could damage the reputation and performance of Apple’s hardware. However, when the late Apple founder took to the stage back in March 2008, he said that he knew developers wanted their software “in front of every iPhone user” and revealed “we’re going to solve that problem for every developer, big to small, and the way we’re going to do that is what we call the App Store!”

And it didn’t take long for developers to get their applications seen by the world. Launching with just 500 apps on day one, there are now more than 2 million apps for iPhones and iPads on the App Store with 500 million App Store visitors a week, which together generate tens of billions of dollars every year.

This week, we’re throwing back to the launch of the App Store, to uncover how Apple was able to turn a simple idea into the world’s most powerful and recognizable software marketplace, and casting our eye towards the future, with predictions of an augmented-reality app takeover.

LAUNCH AND HISTORY

When the first iPhone was unveiled by Steve