Sina Digital News — Today, Apple released the "China App Store Ecosystem: 2025 Developer and User Value Study," jointly conducted by Ju Heng, Associate Professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Business School, and Dr. Markus von Wartburg, economist at Analysis Group.

The report data shows that over the five years from 2020 to 2025, the transaction volume and sales facilitated by the App Store in mainland China doubled, reaching a total scale of 4 trillion yuan in 2025, with domestic developers showing strong momentum in going global and AI-driven utility apps experiencing explosive growth.

This independent study divides transactions facilitated by the App Store ecosystem into three major categories: physical goods and services, digital goods and services, and in-app advertising. Of the total 4 trillion yuan, physical goods and services accounted for 3.7 trillion yuan, representing 91% of the total; digital goods and services generated 148.9 billion yuan in revenue; and in-app advertising brought in 212 billion yuan.

Notably, physical goods transactions, in-app advertising, and digital subscriptions completed through channels outside the App do not incur commissions payable to Apple. By this calculation, more than 95% of transaction volume and sales revenue goes entirely to developers, with no platform commission required.

From the user side, the App Store in the Chinese market averages 167 million weekly visitors. Local apps firmly hold home-field advantage: in 2025, apps developed by Chinese developers accounted for 93% of domestic downloads and 98% of domestic revenue, with gaming, e-commerce, short video, and AI creative tools forming the core pillars of the ecosystem.

Over 70% of Developers Have Gone Overseas, with More Than Half of Revenue Coming from Foreign Markets

The most closely watched set of data in the report is the globalization scorecard for Chinese developers. In 2025, 76% of Chinese developers had already conducted overseas business, a significant increase from 64% in 2020; the share of overseas revenue jumped from 32% to 52%, and the scale of overseas revenue was 2.6 times that of 2020. Total global downloads of Chinese developers' apps surpassed 10 billion, with overseas downloads alone reaching 3.8 billion.

Gaming remains the ace category for going global. Among the global App Store top 100 downloaded games in 2025, 23 were Chinese titles, ranking first in the world by number. Kuro Games' "Wuthering Waves," leveraging Apple hardware and software technologies such as MetalFX and ProMotion, launched across multiple devices including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro, covering 175 countries and regions worldwide, becoming a typical example of a Chinese open-world game going global. Kuro Games CEO Li Songlun stated that relying on the App Store's global distribution capabilities, the team was able to reach tens of millions of players worldwide and build connections with overseas users.

Beyond gaming, utility apps have also opened up opportunities in overseas markets. Apps such as CamScanner have launched in 174 regions; AI applications in graphic design and translation recognition have seen astonishing growth rates. Data shows that from 2020 to 2025, revenue for graphic and design developers grew to 13.2 times the original level, translation and recognition apps grew 8.6 times, and entertainment, digital tools, and business categories also achieved growth of more than 4 times, with AI technology empowerment becoming the core driving force behind the rise of this batch of applications.

Lower Platform Rates Reduce Barriers to Entrepreneurship

The report points out that more than 95% of participants in the App Store ecosystem are small developers. From 2020 to 2025, the overall revenue of domestic small developers achieved more than double growth; 75% of small developers have already gone overseas, with overseas revenue accounting for about 40% of small developers' total revenue. Many teams that today generate tens of millions of yuan in revenue were still at a starting stage with annual income of less than 100,000 yuan in 2020.

Independent development team Midi Technology is a representative example. Over eight years, it has launched more than ten apps, and since 2024 its revenue has exceeded 1 million US dollars. Founder Liu Yi stated that the Small Business Program's preferential commission policy has provided important support for the team's investment in new product research and development, and that the platform's distribution capabilities enable products to reach millions of users worldwide.

Regarding rate policy, in March 2026 Apple lowered commissions in China: the standard commission for digital goods and services was adjusted to 25%, and developers participating in the Small Business Program and the Mini Apps Partner Program can enjoy a preferential commission rate of 12%, further reducing monetization costs for small and medium-sized developers. Compared with the 30% standard commission in most overseas regions, the Chinese market has a lower rate baseline. However, commissions only apply to digital transactions such as in-app purchases and paid downloads; e-commerce physical goods, food delivery and ride-hailing, and in-app advertising revenue have never been included in the commission scope.

Continued Investment in AI Education

In addition to transactions and revenue sharing, the report also outlines the platform's technical and educational support system for developers. Currently, Apple has opened more than 250,000 API interfaces to the public, covering areas such as graphics rendering, machine learning, health data, and translation; the new version of Xcode already supports integration with domestic third-party AI large models, helping developers quickly integrate AI capabilities into their app products.

In terms of talent cultivation, the Mobile Application Innovation Contest has covered more than 1,200 universities nationwide over ten years, with over 40,000 students participating. In 2025, Apple partnered with Zhejiang University to establish a mobile application incubation fund, providing early-stage entrepreneurial students with a full suite of support including technical training, product design, operations, and investment and financing connections. The Shanghai Apple Developer Center continues to hold online and offline technical salons, and in 2025 the developer relations team conducted technical exchanges with more than 2,000 domestic development teams and over 18,000 developers, and opened accounts on WeChat and Bilibili to output development tutorials, popularizing programming and development skills for a broader audience of learners.

Chinese Developers Move from Local to Global

This 4 trillion yuan statistical measure represents the total transaction value "facilitated" by the App Store ecosystem, and is not equivalent to the income developers directly receive through the App Store channel. The vast majority of it comes from physical consumption such as e-commerce shopping, food delivery, and ride-hailing, rather than in-app purchase commission revenue. Indirect economic value generated by smart home hardware companion apps and similar products has not yet been included in the statistical scope.

From an industry trend perspective, Chinese developers have moved beyond simple imitation models, with gaming, AI creative tools, and productivity tools forming the new main force for going global. On one hand are heavyweight titles from major companies, and on the other are a large number of small and medium-sized independent teams using differentiated tool products to pry open overseas niche markets. In five years, the transaction volume facilitated by the App Store in China has doubled, and Chinese developers have moved from local to global. This is not only a success story of the digital economy, but also a manifestation of ecosystem value.