Apple looks back on a record year for services
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Apple's services business has become a major pillar alongside hardware sales. The iPhone manufacturer looks back on a record year.
As is well known, the services business has become a firm and major pillar in Apple's balance sheets alongside hardware sales. With a press release that is very euphoric and expansive even by Apple's standards, the iPhone manufacturer has now looked back on a record year. 2025 was outstanding, concludes services chief Eddy Cue, speaking of "remarkable growth".
The US company, as usual, remains reticent when it comes to absolute figures: for example, the music streaming service Apple Music [1] recorded records in listener numbers and new customers – how high exactly remains to be seen. The film and series streaming service Apple TV (formerly: Apple TV+) [2] recorded an increase in viewing hours of 36 percent in December 2025 – this was also a record.
Expansion into further markets
For the App Store, Apple reports 850 million weekly users worldwide. Developers have earned a total of 550 billion US dollars since 2008. The App Store ecosystem enabled revenues of 1.3 trillion US dollars in 2024 – and presumably with a view to regulators [3], Apple points out that over 90 percent went directly to developers without Apple commission. The App Store, meanwhile, recorded a new visitor record between Christmas and New Year.
The expansion of services into new countries is likely to have contributed to the growth. The payment service Apple Pay, for example, is now available in 89 markets and has over 11,000 banking partners. The Tap to Pay function was expanded to 34 new markets in 2025, bringing the total to 50 [4]. Apple Fitness+ also expanded into 28 new countries and regions.
Further key figures from Apple's press release:
- Apple Podcasts also had a record year in its anniversary year (20 years). In total, Apple has now transcribed 125 million podcast episodes.
- The game subscription service Apple Arcade received 50 new game titles.
- The cooperation with airlines on the tracking service "Find My" [5], according to SITA WorldTracer surveys, has led to a 90 percent reduction in the number of "truly lost" luggage that cannot be found later. The use of an AirTag is a prerequisite for this.
- The music recognition service Shazam recorded over a billion recognitions per month.
- The medal table for Apple TV has grown to 672 awards and 3085 nominations thanks to new titles such as the F1 film with Brad Pitt [6].
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This article was originally published in German [12]. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.
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[1] https://www.heise.de/thema/Apple-Music
[2] https://www.heise.de/news/Buntes-Rebranding-Apple-TV-laesst-das-Plus-weg-10757270.html?from-en=1
[3] https://www.heise.de/news/Digital-Markets-Act-Apple-baut-App-Store-in-der-EU-erneut-um-10461796.html?from-en=1
[4] https://www.heise.de/news/Tap-to-Pay-In-diesen-Laendern-dient-das-iPhone-jetzt-als-Bezahlterminal-10424061.html?from-en=1
[5] https://www.heise.de/news/Ueberblick-Diese-Airlines-nehmen-AirTags-zum-Gepaeck-Tracking-10505353.html?from-en=1
[6] https://www.heise.de/news/Apples-F1-Film-nimmt-halbe-Milliarde-an-der-Kinokasse-ein-10501744.html?from-en=1
[7] https://www.heise.de/mac-and-i
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[12] https://www.heise.de/news/Apple-blickt-auf-Rekordjahr-bei-Diensten-zurueck-11138262.html
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