Steve Jobs on the App Store in 2008
The recording of that interview, which The Information and Wall Street Journal are jointly publishing for the first time, is an opportunity to hear, in vivid form, how Mr. Jobs viewed the opportunity presented by mobile software years before its success became conventional wisdom.
In the early days of the App Store, Apple was criticized for high app prices. “It’s a competition,” said Jobs. “Who knew what to price things at?” According to Jobs, Apple didn’t have advice for developers on pricing either. “Our opinions are no better than yours because this is so new.”
What can only be captured by the audio of the interview, is Jobs’ apparently sincere astonishment at the success of the App Store. In retrospect, it’s amusing to hear Jobs speculate that the App Store might someday reach $1 billion in revenue when we know now that it’s paid out a net to developers of $100 billion[…]
