Countless spinoffs and merchandise were created. By 2015, over three billion downloads were amassed between all entries in the series, making it the most successful freemium software of all time. The first installment in the wildly popular franchise was released in December 2009 and quickly became a runaway hit. It’s also worth mentioning that each store had both paid and free apps from the beginning, meaning premium and “freemium” content was always a factor. Google Play, the Amazon App Store, and Blackberry’s App World also give more people the ability to enjoy various apps on their phones. Nevertheless, as new varieties of smartphones were unveiled, different app clients were introduced. The original App Store launched with 500 apps, meaning there is no “true” first app. Native apps were developed, and just over a year later…the App Store was launched. The iPhone was released in June 2007 to critical and commercial success. Shortly after Apple’s introduction of the iPod, the iTunes store launched, acting as a precursor to the Apple App Store. Jobs imagined a place where software could be bought over phone lines. The first iPod would also come with built-in games: Solitaire and Brick.īack in 1983, however, a young Steve Jobs first envisioned the App Store…or at least a very basic version of it. In 1997, the Nokia 6110 included a built-in version of the basic arcade game “Snake,” which many consider the first mobile app. Despite the short amount of time they’ve been around, though, they’ve had a grand history. Cell phones might have had dedicated features or modes (a calculator, for instance), but apps as we know them only recently debuted alongside smartphones and PDAs. As integral to our lives as they’ve become, it wasn’t that long ago that mobile apps were a rarity.

Origin app store