The AppAdvice Week In Review: The App Store Turns 5 Years Old
July 14, 2013
As Apple celebrated an anniversary, we heard more about the company's future plans. Here are just a few of the stories that we covered during the slow news week that was.
Apple celebrated the fifth anniversary of the App Store by giving away some popular apps. Cupertino also used the occasion to relive some of the store's biggest milestones.
Here are our favorite milestones of each year:
This summer hasn’t been kind to folks waiting for Apple devices with Retina displays. In June, Apple announced a new MacBook Air lineup that didn’t include the better display. This month, we’ve heard multiple stories that indicate a Retina display iPad mini won’t be arriving until 2014.
A Retina display second-generation iPad mini was long expected to arrive in time for this year’s important holiday season. However, those plans seem to have shifted in recent weeks. The latest rumor came from Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, which cited display panel shortages as the reason for the delay.
On Monday, Apple released the third iOS 7 beta. Unlike the previous two versions, this developer's release was squarely focused on bug fixes and little tweaks.
Take a look:
The App Store Turns 5
Apple celebrated the fifth anniversary of the App Store by giving away some popular apps. Cupertino also used the occasion to relive some of the store's biggest milestones.
Here are our favorite milestones of each year:
The most popular apps of all time, as of May 2013 when Apple announced the 50 billionth download: For the top 25 all-time paid iPhone apps:
- 2008: By December, the Facebook for iPhone app had been downloaded nearly 5 million times.
- 2009: In April, the App Store celebrated its 1 billionth download.
- 2010: On April 3, the first iPad is released.
- 2011: The HBO Go app arrives.
- 2012: On March 29, Paper by Fifty-Three launches. A few months later it becomes the iPad App of the Year.
- 2013 (so far): On June 10, Apple CEO Tim Cook announces that developers have made a combined $10 billion in the App Store.
For the top 25 all-time free iPhone apps:
- Angry Birds
- Fruit Ninja
- Doodle Jump
- Cut the Rope
- Angry Birds Seasons
- WhatsApp Messenger
- Camera+
- Words With Friends
- Tiny Wings
- Angry Birds Space
- Pocket God
- Plants vs. Zombies
- The Game of Life Classic Edition
- The Moron Test
- Where’s My Water?
- Draw Something
- Monopoly
- Angry Birds Star Wars
- MotionX GPS Drive
- Skee-Ball
- Scrabble
- UNO
- Minecraft – Pocket Edition
- Color Splash
- The Sims 3
For the top 25 all-time paid iPad apps:
- Pandora Radio
- YouTube
- Skype
- Words With Friends Free
- The Weather Channel
- Temple Run
- Google Search
- Netflix
- Shazam
- Angry Birds Free
- Draw Something Free
- Flashlight Ⓞ
- Facebook Messenger
- Google Earth
- Fruit Ninja Free
- iHeartRadio
- Movies by Flixster, with Rotten Tomatoes
- Bump
- eBay
- PAC-MAN Lite
- Groupon
- Google Maps
And finally, for the top 25 all-time free iPad apps:
- Pages
- Angry Birds HD
- Angry Birds Seasons HD
- Where’s My Water?
- Fruit Ninja HD
- Angry Birds Space HD
- GarageBand
- Words With Friends HD
- Cut the Rope HD
- Keynote
- Numbers
- Angry Birds Star Wars HD
- GoodReader for iPad
- Scrabble HD for iPad
- Minecraft – Pocket Edition
- Plants vs. Zombies HD
- Notability
- Monopoly for iPad
- Quickoffice Pro HD
- Star Walk HD
- Draw Something
- iMovie
- iPhoto
- Where’s My Perry?
- Bad Piggies HD
- Skype for iPad
- The Weather Channel for iPad
- Netflix
- Angry Birds HD Free
- Kindle
- Pandora Radio
- Calculator for iPad Free
- Fruit Ninja HD Free
- Words With Friends HD Free
- Google Earth
- ABC Player
- Calculator Pro for iPad Free
- Temple Run
- YouTube
- eBay for iPad
- CNN App for iPad
- Dropbox
- Adobe Reader
- Solitaire
- NYTimes for iPad
- Temple Run 2
- Hulu Plus
- Draw Something Free
No iPad mini With Retina Display Until 2014
This summer hasn’t been kind to folks waiting for Apple devices with Retina displays. In June, Apple announced a new MacBook Air lineup that didn’t include the better display. This month, we’ve heard multiple stories that indicate a Retina display iPad mini won’t be arriving until 2014.
A Retina display second-generation iPad mini was long expected to arrive in time for this year’s important holiday season. However, those plans seem to have shifted in recent weeks. The latest rumor came from Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, which cited display panel shortages as the reason for the delay.
The iPad 5 to launch in September
While a Retina display iPad mini may be delayed, the iPad 5 will not be. A new report noted that the iPad 5 will have a slimmer bezel design. In addition, the number of LED tubes in the device is said to have been reduced from two to one. Battery longevity is also improved.The third iOS 7 beta arrives
On Monday, Apple released the third iOS 7 beta. Unlike the previous two versions, this developer's release was squarely focused on bug fixes and little tweaks.
Take a look:
The fourth iOS 7 beta drops Monday, July 22.
Recommended Reading
That's it folks! Have a nice Sunday.
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