How Apple Keeps Earning After You Buy an iPhone

Full transcript

You bought an iPhone. Deal done, right? Not quite—Apple can keep earning long after, and one payer isn't even you. Cloud storage, music, and calendar subscriptions quietly create repeat payments every single month, even while you keep the exact same phone. Then there's the App Store: on a ten dollar digital purchase, a thirty percent commission sends seven dollars to the developer and three dollars to Apple. Now the twist: the unexpected payer is Google. A court filing cited an estimated twenty billion dollar payment to Apple in twenty twenty-two for search placement. These deals, subscriptions, and commissions all fall under one umbrella called Services, and that business has grown enormously over the years. Back in fiscal twenty seventeen, Services made thirty two point seven billion dollars—now picture how much taller that bar has grown since then. Today, Services revenue hit one hundred nine point two billion dollars—bigger than Mac, iPad, Wearables, Home and Accessories combined. Sell the device, and earn from its ecosystem.