Apple app developers, many from India, earned $20 bn in 2016 ead)

New York/New Delhi, Jan 6 (IANS) Apple on Friday announced that its app developers earned over $20 billion in 2016 -- up over 40 per cent from 2015 and several of those talented minds are from India -- stating that New Year's Day was the highest single day ever for the App Store with nearly $240 million in purchases.

Since the App Store launched in 2008, developers have earned over $60 billion, creating amazing app experiences for App Store customers across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV and Mac, Cupertino-headquartered tech giant announced on Friday.

"We want to thank our entire developer community for the many innovative apps they have created, which together with our products, help to truly enrich people's lives," said Philip Schiller, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing, Apple, in a statement.

According to an Apple India spokesperson, app developers from India are now creating amazing apps for its platform. "There are several app developers from India who are now part of the growing innovative community globally," the spokesperson told IANS.

Apple last year revealed plans for an iOS app design and development facility in Bengaluru.

Across India, Apple supports over 640,000 iOS app developer jobs and other positions related to the iOS ecosystem.

Apple is also reportedly setting up its first manufacturing smartphone plant in Bengaluru this year.

According to the company, purchases from the App Store topped $3 billion in December globally.

In the same month, Nintendo's Super Mario Run made history with more than 40 million downloads in just four days after its release, and was the most downloaded app globally on Christmas and New Year's Day. Super Mario Run is also among last year's top 10 most downloaded apps worldwide, with Pokemon Go taking the top spot.

Available in 155 countries, the App Store offers 2.2 million apps in total, up over 20 per cent from last year.

The App Store's top-grossing markets include the US, China, Japan and Britain, with China experiencing record year-over-year growth at an incredible 90 per cent.

iPhone and iPad customers grew the App Store's subscription billings significantly in 2016 to $2.7 billion, up 74 per cent from 2015, the company said.

With the introduction of iMessage apps and SiriKit in iOS 10, developers created exciting new types of app experiences.

iPhone and iPad customers now have access to over 21,000 iMessage apps to send stickers and easily collaborate with friends, and for the first time ever, users can ask Siri to book rides, make payments, return a call and more.