Apple's App Store generated more than $10 billion in sales last year, as much as it produced in the previous four years combined, cementing the company's lead over Google in a key battleground of mobile computing.

The US company said yesterday that it had passed on $15 billion to developers in the life of the App Store, which was launched in 2008. That compares with the more than $7 billion it said developers had earned by this time last year, pointing to a surge in sales over the past 12 months.

Apple keeps 30 per cent of app sales and of in-app purchases, which have become the main way developers charge for their mobile software services. "For all that people argue about whether apps are the future, they're growing very fast – people like downloading them," said Benedict Evans, a UK-based mobile analyst. Google does not disclose revenues for apps sold through its Play store, though it recently surpassed Apple in terms of the number of apps downloaded since it launched the rival service.

Soaring sales
The soaring sales of Android phones and the rising number of downloads from Google's service have started to attract more attention from mobile developers. If it were to lose its position as the mobile platform with the hottest new games and other apps, or the widest selection of software, Apple would lose one of its key remaining advantages over Android, according to analysts. However, users of Apple's iPhone and iPad are estimated to spend considerably more in the App Store than their Android counterparts, helping to keep most developers squarely focused on iOS.
– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014)