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Apple’s Services Engine Hits 1.5 Billion Subscribers, But Revenue Growth Faces New Pressure

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

July 31, 2026

Apple’s services business surpassed 1.5 billion paid subscriptions during the June quarter, up from 1 billion in January 2025, as the company continued to expand its ecosystem despite revenue coming in below Wall Street expectations.

Services revenue reached $30.74 billion, missing analysts’ estimate of $31.22 billion. The shortfall, together with weaker-than-expected performance in China, sent Apple shares down more than 4% in after-hours trading.

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App Store Growth Slows

Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh said several factors weighed on services revenue, including slower mobile gaming activity and changes to the App Store business model in some markets.

In the United States, court-ordered changes now allow developers to process payments outside the App Store, reducing Apple’s ability to collect commissions on some transactions. The legal dispute remains ongoing and is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Parekh did not quantify the financial impact of those changes.

Foreign Exchange Also Weighed On Results

According to Apple, foreign exchange was the largest factor behind the services revenue miss. Results were also affected by a difficult comparison with the prior year, when the theatrical release of F1 boosted performance.

Despite the weaker-than-expected revenue, the App Store recorded a June quarter revenue record. That figure includes Apple Ads, which recently expanded to Apple Maps.

Paid Subscriptions Continue To Grow

Apple said services revenue reached an all-time high across developed markets and a June quarter record in emerging markets. Double-digit growth was recorded in the vast majority of markets where the company operates.

“Our services continue to attract more customers, and we have now surpassed one and a half billion in paid subscriptions,” Parekh said. “Both transacting and paid accounts reached new all-time highs in the quarter, with double-digit growth for both in emerging markets.”

Multiple Services Posted Record Results

Apple said Apple Ads, the App Store, AppleCare, Apple Music and Apple TV each recorded June quarter revenue records. Cloud services and payment services reached all-time highs, while Apple TV reported record viewership during the quarter.

Apple Expands Services Offering

The company also highlighted newer products, including Creator Studio subscriptions and planned bill-splitting features for Apple Cash, as part of its expanding services portfolio.

Apple’s Upgrade program, launched with Klarna, is designed to simplify device purchases and could encourage more customers to adopt Apple products and services.

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Google Says AI Has Accelerated Chrome Security Patching To Record Levels

Google said its internal AI tools helped identify and fix more security vulnerabilities in the last two Chrome releases than the company patched across the previous two years combined.

In a post published Thursday on its security blog, Google said it fixed 1,072 security bugs in Chrome versions 149 and 150, both released in June. That compares with 1,036 vulnerabilities fixed across the previous 23 Chrome releases.

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Google Expands AI Use In Security

Google outlined its approach in a white paper describing how it uses AI models to identify vulnerabilities and accelerate remediation. The report includes a chart showing a sharp increase in the number of bugs fixed in recent Chrome releases.

The company refers to each Chrome release as a “milestone.” Chrome version 126 was released in June 2024, while versions 149 and 150 shipped last month.

Company Says AI Speeds Vulnerability Detection

Doug Turner, Chrome’s director of engineering, said large language models have “fundamentally shifted the economics of cybersecurity” by automating vulnerability discovery.

“By applying models like Gemini, we are preemptively fixing vulnerabilities, outpacing our adversaries and making Chrome safer with every update,” Turner said.

Microsoft Also Reports More Security Fixes

Google is not the only technology company reporting higher numbers of security patches alongside broader AI adoption. Earlier this month, Microsoft said it fixed a record 570 vulnerabilities during its monthly Patch Tuesday release and cited its use of AI as one factor behind the increase.

Apple has not reported a comparable increase. According to an independent vulnerability tracker, the company has fixed 482 security flaws in 2026 so far, a total broadly in line with previous years.