The App Economy in Australia – the workforce creating and working on mobile apps – has grown by 61 per cent since 2017 according to a report from the Progressive Policy Institute.
Apple has also revealed the App Store Award winners – rewarding the best apps and games in 2023.
Australia is playing an important role in evolving the app economy with Australian apps among the best in the world including Sydney-based Canva, Tasmanian-based Savage Interactive – the company behind art app Procreate – and Melbourne-based fintech company AfterPay.
15 years ago, when Apple’s App Store kicked off on July 10, 2008, none of these jobs existed.
Today more than 182,000 people (as of August 2023) work in Australia’s App Economy – that’s 61 per cent more than the 113,000 from 2017.
And if you break things up based on operating systems, there are 174,000 employed in the iOS ecosystem – that’s an 81 per cent increase from the 96,000 from 2017.
There are also 166,000 jobs in the Android ecosystem which has grown 90 per cent since 87,000 in 2017.
Apple has also unveiled the list of winners for the 2023 App Store Award winners.
The 2023 winners include developers from all parts of the world.
Their apps were chosen by the App Store’s Editorial team for offering users meaningful experiences and inspiring cultural change.
“It’s inspiring to see the ways developers continue to build incredible apps and games that are redefining the world around us,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
“This year’s winners represent the limitless potential of developers to bring their visions to life, creating apps and games with remarkable ingenuity, exceptional quality and purpose-driven missions.”
THE 2023 APP STORE AWARD WINNERS
Apps
iPhone App of the Year: AllTrails, from AllTrails, Inc.
iPad App of the Year: Prêt-à-Makeup, from Prêt-à-Template.
Mac App of the Year: Photomator, from UAB Pixelmator Team.
Apple TV App of the Year: MUBI, from MUBI, Inc.
Apple Watch App of the Year: SmartGym, from Mateus Abras.
Games
iPhone Game of the Year: Honkai: Star Rail, from COGNOSPHERE PTE. LTD.
iPad Game of the Year: Lost in Play, from Snapbreak Games.
Mac Game of the Year: Lies of P, from NEOWIZ.
Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Hello Kitty Island Adventure, from Sunblink.