Happy 10th Birthday, App Store!

The App Store was launched ten years ago. Ten years! It’s hard to believe, but it was July 10th (next Tuesday) that Apple unleashed this world-changing concept. The company put out a long self-congratulatory announcement pre-celebrating this incredible milestone, including this great GIF:

From Apple’s App Store Anniversary Announcement

Before 2008, the software industry was dominated by a few large companies. The App Store opened the door for any developer, from one-person shops to large studios, to come up with a great idea, build a high quality app and seamlessly deliver it to the growing number of customers around the world that today exceeds 1 billion people.

MLB At Bat, Tap Tap Revenge, Trism, The New York Times, eBay and Travelocity represented the wide range of apps available from day one, bringing to life an entirely new way to travel, play games, read the news and experience sports right in the palm of your hand.

Protecting user privacy is paramount in the Apple ecosystem, so from the beginning, Apple has taken great care in providing clear guidelines to developers and thoughtfully curating a safe, trusted app marketplace to ensure the best experience possible for customers around the world to discover and access apps.

[2012 – One Million iOS Apps Have Been Approved Since 2008]

Privacy

Note that Apple is taking the opportunity to emphasize its commitment to privacy at a moment when more attention is being paid to the concept. Apple CEO Tim Cook has been saying for years that privacy would eventually become a competitive advantage, and we are starting to see the beginnings of that being a real thing.

Apple’s full announcement offers a look back at other milestones and includes a lot of supportive quotes from developers and others.

Here’s Steve Jobs’s keynote announcing the App Store.

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