Apple has grown its App Store ecosystem to about 175 countries and regions since its inception in the year 2008. Now today, the company has announced that it is expanding its services to 20 more countries across the world.
The services that have been expanded include Apple App Store, Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and iCloud. The services will now be available in following countries:
- Africa: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Libya, Morocco, Rwanda, and Zambia
- Asia-Pacific: Maldives and Myanmar
- Europe: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia
- Middle East: Afghanistan (excluding Apple Music) and Iraq
- Oceania: Nauru (excluding Apple Music), Tonga, and Vanuatu
However, Apple Music is now expanding its presence in the following countries:
- Africa: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Chad, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Tunisia
- Asia-Pacific: Bhutan
- Europe: Croatia, Iceland, and North Macedonia
- Latin America and the Caribbean: the Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Turks and Caicos, and Uruguay
- Middle East: Kuwait, Qatar, and Yemen
- Oceania: Solomon Islands
Commenting on this, Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and International Content, said: “We’re delighted to bring many of Apple’s most beloved Services to users in more countries than ever before. We hope our customers can discover their new favorite apps, games, music, and podcasts as we continue to celebrate the world’s best creators, artists, and developers.”
In a press release, the company says that it now has half a billion weekly users for its services and added that it plans to offer localized content for the services that it is expanding. It will also be offering a free six-month Apple Music trial in 52 of the new 72 markets but it has not yet revealed which markets.
