Apple Celebrates Apps with JJ Abrams and Neil deGrasse Tyson

Apple celebrates apps as a huge achievement for humankind and have pundits like Neil deGrasse Tyson and JJ Abrams utter incredible statements about apps for the iPhone and iPad. There are now over 1,500,000 apps.

At the WWDC 2015 Apple has released an inspiring video about apps. Apple launched the App Store with 500 apps 7 years ago. Now the App Store offers an incredible 1,500,000 apps.

In the video Neil deGrasse Tyson says about apps: “Apps plus handheld devices. I think that’s a worship moment in civilization. I put it up there with the invention of the microscope.”

Apple acknowledges in the “App Effect” video that the iPhone launched without an App Store. Consumers pushed Apple to let 3rd party apps onto the iPhone.

JJ Abrams says: “The App Store gives everyone access to very powerful tools. There is an incredible generation of film makers and story tellers to come.”

Apple success with the iPhone driven by apps and Apple almost missed the boat on this one in the beginning of the iPhone success story. How bad things have been in the beginning of the App Store can be seen with the sad situation of Apple Watch Apps. The API Apple has offered developer so far are not allowing for native Apple Watch apps. This will change now. At the WWDC 2015, Apple gave developers the SDK for watchOS 2 coming this fall.

Apple says that the average person has 119 apps. 850 apps get downloaded every second and so far 100,000,000,000 apps have been downloaded. The App Store has become a money maker for tons of developers around the world. Many successful startups including Instagram are just based on a single app. It is quite something and that Steve Jobs did not want the App Store in the beginning is mind blowing.