Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy.

The app industry is as hot as ever, with a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spend in 2020.

Consumers last year also spent 3.5 trillion minutes using apps...

IHS Markit Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend in First Quarter 2021...

If you’ve got an Apple TV+ trial that’s set to expire sometime between now and June, good news: you’re getting some free bonus time.

Apple TV+ first launched in November of 2019, alongside a one-year free trial for anyone buying a new iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac. As those initial trials approached their end, Apple voluntarily extended...

Apple has planned new upgraded MacBook Pros for launch “later this year” according to a new report from Bloomberg. These new models would come in both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, with new and improved Apple Silicon processors like those that Apple debuted on the new MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro model late last year. They would also see...

Global Dividend Growth Expected to Recover in 2021 as Payouts Hit 1.78 trillion USD, IHS Markit Says
Increase driven by wider availability of a COVID-19 vaccine, strength of the Asia Pacific and emerging markets...

Last June, Apple committed $100 million to a Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI). Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives, is leading the initiative. Today, Apple is sharing some of its work as part of the initiative.

“We’re launching REJI’s latest initiatives with partners across a broad range of industries and backgrounds — from...

Apple’s $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative launches new projects that fight educational and economic inequity....

IHS Markit Reports Fourth Quarter 2020 Results...

The year of the first-ever all-virtual CES is, unsurprisingly, the year of the virtual gym. The past 12 months have seen most of our fitness routines completely transformed — speaking for myself, my Apple Watch step count shows two big empty spots where March and April are.

Fitness startups have seen unexpected windfall in all of this. In June, Lululemon announced...

CME Group and IHS Markit to Form Leading Post-Trade Services Joint Venture for OTC Markets...