January 12, 2026
UPDATE
2025 marked a record‑breaking year for Apple services
Apple’s Eddy Cue reflects on an outstanding year for Apple services
2025 was a record-breaking year for Apple services, marked by remarkable growth, global expansion, and continuous innovation. From Apple TV, Apple Music, and Apple News, to daily essentials like Apple Pay and iCloud, we delivered enriching experiences to users worldwide. Reflecting on 2025, we remained committed to enhancing our users’ daily lives, with incredible engagement during the holiday season.
Apple services had a banner year, rolling out game-changing features for customers while shattering records. The numbers reflect the incredible enthusiasm of our customers, whether it’s downloading an exciting new app or game, watching the hottest new show with family and friends, listening to their favorite songs, or shopping with peace of mind. The App Store alone saw over 850 million average weekly users globally, with developers earning over $550 billion on our platform since 2008. Apple Pay also made a significant impact by eliminating well over $1 billion in fraud, while generating more than $100 billion in incremental merchant sales globally, and purchases made through Apple Pay significantly outpaced the overall growth in consumer spending levels during the peak holiday shopping period in November and December. Apple TV eclipsed all prior viewership records in December 2025, while Apple Music reached all-time highs in both listenership and new subscribers.
We marked milestone anniversaries across services, including Apple Podcasts, Music, News, and more — each made possible by the artists, creators, journalists, and storytellers who bring these platforms to life. And we brought services to more users across the globe than ever before, with Apple Pay now available in 89 markets, Find My launching in South Korea, and Apple Fitness+ expanding to 28 additional countries and regions.
New updates to services delivered increasingly personalized, fun, and easy-to-use experiences for our users. Apple Wallet leveraged Apple Intelligence to make it easier for users to keep track of their orders, and Apple Maps made users’ Preferred Routes and Visited Places easily accessible using on-device intelligence. Apple Music’s AutoMix mixed songs seamlessly like a DJ, while Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation broke down language barriers. AI-powered features like Enhance Dialogue, automatically generated chapters, and links in Apple Podcasts ensured everyone could personalize their listening experience and better navigate their favorite shows. Fitness+ added digital dubbing in Spanish and German, and introduced Custom Plans that automatically create personalized workout schedules based on user preferences. Apple Invites brought people together for all kinds of life occasions, capturing memories through direct integration with Shared Albums. Apple Arcade expanded its catalog of highly rated games with more than 50 new titles for families to enjoy, all without ads.
As we look ahead, we’ll continue to bring innovation and intelligent enhancements to Apple services, always guided by our commitment to privacy and a phenomenal customer experience.
— Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services
Apple invests every day to ensure the App Store remains a safe and trusted place for users to find great apps. This consumer trust led to unprecedented engagement on the App Store in 2025, with over 850 million average weekly users spanning 175 countries and regions, helping developers grow their businesses and reach new customers around the world with the click of a button. Storefronts including the U.S., Japan, India, and China saw record visitors during the year.
Developers selling digital goods and services on the App Store have earned more than $550 billion since 2008, when the platform first launched. This figure represents just a fraction of the overall commerce the App Store supports: In 2024, the App Store ecosystem facilitated $1.3 trillion in developer billings and sales, with more than 90 percent of that commerce going directly to developers, with zero commission paid to Apple.
The App Store saw a record number of visitors between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, and customer spending on digital goods and services over this period also hit a record. Productivity apps and photo and video apps were key growth drivers, and education apps like Simply Draw: Learn to Draw and Toca Boca World were among the most popular with customers during the holiday period.
Apple TV’s engagement this past December soared, with total hours viewed up 36 percent compared to the previous year, setting a new record for monthly engagement. This milestone was fueled by robust audience growth across Europe and Latin America, continued expansion in the U.S., and the global streaming debuts of F1, Pluribus, and The Family Plan 2, as well as the timeless Peanuts classic A Charlie Brown Christmas. The landmark year was propelled by Apple’s summer blockbuster F1 — the No. 1 movie at the global box office, the top film on Apple TV, and the highest-grossing sports movie of all time — as well as the premiere of Apple TV’s biggest series to date, the widely acclaimed Pluribus.
Apple’s commitment to excellence earned unprecedented recognition at the Emmy Awards. The Studio made history as the most Emmy-winning freshman comedy ever, Severance led as the most-awarded drama, and the gripping espionage series Slow Horses landed a Best Directing honor. To date, Apple TV has amassed 672 award wins and 3,085 nominations, underscoring its dedication to quality storytelling.
Building on its record-breaking year, Apple TV introduced a bold new identity and mnemonic recorded by multi-Grammy- and Academy Award-winning artist FINNEAS; expanded its live sports offerings with the news that all Major League Soccer matches will be available to stream for Apple TV subscribers at no additional cost; and unveiled a series of platform enhancements — including the launch of the Apple TV and Peacock bundle. Apple TV also introduced a native Apple TV app for Android, as well as new profiles that give every member of the household their own personalized experience within the Apple TV app.
In 2025, Apple elevated the fan experience across marquee sports leagues and moments, including “Friday Night Baseball” and Major League Soccer’s 30th season. Beginning this March, Apple will further expand its relationship with Formula 1® following the global success of F1 The Movie with a new five-year agreement that will bring every F1 race exclusively to Apple TV in the United States.
Apple Music had its best year ever in 2025, breaking records across both listenership and new subscribers. The service marked its 10-year anniversary with its biggest product feature release since launch and the opening of a brand new state-of-the-art studio, while also expanding its reach beyond the Apple ecosystem to bring Apple Music to more fans around the world.
This year, Apple Music made it easier than ever for fans to discover, share, and enjoy the music they love. New features like Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation — along with AutoMix, Library Pins, and in-app Replay stats — elevate everyday listening. Apple Music Sing expanded its feature set as well: Users can now turn their iPhone into a microphone that amplifies their voice through the TV, and utilize Continuity Camera to appear onscreen alongside lyrics and visual effects. This past holiday season, the most “sung” song on Apple Music was Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Apple Music also expanded its reach beyond the Apple ecosystem this year, partnering with companies like GM, TuneIn, Chase, and more to bring Apple Music to even more listeners around the world.
In 2025, Shazam generated over 1 billion recognitions per month, and saw significant app and website enhancements, continuing to be one of the most popular destinations for music discovery.
Apple Pay continues to bring value to users, merchants, and banks across the globe, and is now available in 89 markets, and with more than 11,000 banks and network partners — including more than 20 local payment networks. According to Apple data, as well as industry data, over the past year, Apple Pay has eliminated well over $1 billion in fraud globally, as well as generated more than $100 billion in incremental merchant sales globally. And during the peak holiday shopping weekend, purchases made through Apple Pay significantly outpaced the overall growth in consumer spending levels during that time period. With iOS 26, Apple Pay allows banks and lenders to enable users to pay with bank- or lender-provided installments and rewards in stores.
2025 brought more ways for users across the globe to use Apple Wallet in their daily lives, from securely presenting their identity, to navigating air travel with greater ease, to keeping track of their online orders. Apple introduced support for Japan’s My Number Card on iPhone — marking the first international ID in Wallet — and enabling millions of users to use iPhone to present their ID in person, in apps, and online for identity and age verification.
In the U.S., Apple introduced Digital ID, which enables users to create and add a Digital ID to Apple Wallet using information from a U.S. passport, and securely present their identity information using iPhone and Apple Watch, starting with TSA airport security checkpoints for domestic travel.1 Digital ID builds on the continued expansion of state IDs and driver’s licenses in Wallet, which last year was enabled by Illinois, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia, and is now live in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.
To bring even more convenience to users’ travels, Apple Wallet also rolled out a refreshed boarding pass experience with airlines, which brings Live Activities for flight tracking, Maps, Find My, and more into one convenient place in Wallet. Additionally, Apple Wallet now uses Apple Intelligence to automatically identify, summarize, and display order tracking details from emails sent from merchants or delivery carriers.2
Apple brought Apple Cash to the group chat, with the option to now use Apple Cash to request, send, and receive money directly within group conversations in Messages.3 Last year, Tap to Pay on iPhone expanded to 34 additional markets — now covering most of Europe — and is live in a total of 50 markets, with more than 15 million merchants of all sizes across the world accepting contactless payments using just an iPhone.
Apple Maps expanded its Detailed City Experience to new locations like New Orleans, Singapore, and Monaco, showcasing 3D landmarks including a custom F1 Monaco Grand Prix experience, now totaling 34 cities live with Detailed City Experience. Additionally, Maps brought its all-new map to Mexico and Thailand, offering users more accurate and detailed navigation, cycling directions, and more. With iOS 26, Maps became more personalized and intelligent, with new features like Preferred Routes, which uses on-device intelligence for daily commutes, and Visited Places, which helps users recall past locations.
Apple also expanded its Share Item Location feature in Find My to 27 additional airlines, bringing the total to 36. This feature allows private and secure sharing of an AirTag’s or Find My network accessory’s location with an airline’s customer service, reducing “truly lost” or unrecoverable luggage by 90 percent, according to SITA’s WorldTracer® global baggage management system. In South Korea, users can now use the Find My app to locate their Apple devices and personal items on a map, as well as share their location with friends and family — all while protecting user privacy.
iCloud keeps users’ most important information — like photos, files, and apps — secure and synced across all of their Apple devices, and powers important features such as iCloud Photos and other shared experiences.
In 2025, Apple made it easier for users to connect with family and friends with the release of Apple Invites, which helps users create custom invitations to bring people together for any occasion. With Invites, users can RSVP from any device, and unlimited event creation is included with an iCloud+ subscription, along with additional storage options and other premium benefits, such as iCloud Private Relay, which protects a user’s privacy on the web; Hide My Email, which offers an easy way to create unique, random email addresses that forward to a personal inbox; custom email domains for iCloud Mail; and expanded support for HomeKit Secure Video recording.
iCloud+ subscriptions can be shared with up to five other family members by creating a Family Sharing group where everyone’s data will stay private and separate. iCloud leads the industry in using privacy-preserving security technologies, including two-factor authentication and Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, which uses end-to-end encryption to keep users’ data secure and under their control.
Apple Arcade brings fun and inventive games to players across Apple devices from extraordinary developers around the world, all without ads or in-app purchases, making the service an incredible choice for families with kids and players looking for uninterrupted gaming experiences. Last year, Arcade launched more than 50 new games, including hits based on the biggest entertainment and sports brands, like SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit 2 and PGA TOUR Pro Golf. The service also added popular PC games PowerWash Simulator and Cult of the Lamb — and continues to add more. Over 500 updates were released for existing hits on Arcade, like Sneaky Sasquatch and Hello Kitty Island Adventure.
In 2025, Apple Fitness+ marked its largest expansion since the service’s launch by rolling out to 28 new countries and regions — including Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Taiwan, with Japan coming early this year. To make Fitness+ even more welcoming, the service introduced digitally dubbed workouts and meditations in Spanish and German, featuring a generated voice based on the actual voice of each of the 28 Fitness+ trainers. Today, the service offers more than 8,000 workouts and meditations in 4K Ultra HD. Fitness+ also launched powerful personalization features with ready-made Custom Plans, and users with AirPods Pro 3 can now view real-time performance metrics directly onscreen for extra motivation.4
2025 was Apple Podcasts’ best year yet, achieving record listeners, plays, and subscribers. Celebrating 20 years, Podcasts drove innovation, growth, and content recognition. It honored this milestone by curating “20 Years, 20 Podcasts We Love,” and introduced new accessibility and discovery features: enhance dialogue, new playback speeds, automatically created chapters, timed links, and expanded transcripts to over 125 million episodes in 13 languages. Podcasts also launched its “Best So Far” editorial list and awarded its Show of the Year to The Rest Is History — a first for a UK series.
As 2025 marked its 10th anniversary, Apple News solidified its position as the No. 1 news app in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, and No. 2 in the UK. News features over 3,000 publications and more than 600 titles with Apple News+. News+ expanded its offerings with the debut of Apple News+ Food, which includes 100,000 recipes from 60 publications in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and English-speaking Canada. It also introduced a new original puzzle, Emoji Game, in the U.S. and Canada. And to give more users access to critical local coverage, Apple News now includes over 150 local newspapers and news feeds across 50 U.S. states, seven Canadian markets, and London.
Apple One gives users access to the best of Apple services in one simple monthly plan that offers incredible value for individuals and families alike. Today, Apple One Individual and Family plans — which include iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Arcade — are available in more than 100 markets across the globe, with Apple One Premier, which also includes Apple Fitness+, available in more than 20 markets. The full Premier bundle, which also includes Apple News+, is available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the UK.
- To create a Digital ID in wallet, a user must have an authentic and unexpired U.S. passport and an iPhone 11 or later with iOS 26.1 or later, or Apple Watch Series 6 or later with WatchOS 26.1 or later. Digital ID in Wallet can only be used at select TSA checkpoints in the U.S. to verify identity for domestic travel. It is not a replacement for a physical passport, and cannot be used to perform functions of a passport like international travel and border crossing. Users will still need an authentic and unexpired physical U.S. passport to perform such functions.
- Requires eligible device and OS version. See support.apple.com/en-us/105065 for details.
- Apple Cash services are provided by Green Dot Bank, Member FDIC. Apple Payments Services LLC, a subsidiary of Apple Inc., is a service provider of Green Dot Bank for Apple Cash accounts. Neither Apple Inc. nor Apple Payments Services LLC is a bank. Learn more about the Terms and Conditions. Only available in the U.S. on eligible devices.
- Heart rate sensing with AirPods Pro 3 and Powerbeats Pro 2 during workouts is available in the Fitness app on iPhone with iOS 26; iPad with iPadOS 26; and Apple TV with tvOS 26 when also paired with iPhone.
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