Apple's Mac App Store reaches 10,000 applications

Apple's official Mac App Store for OS X reportedly crossed the five-figure mark this week, as the digital storefront now has more than 10,000 applications available.

The achievement was noted on Friday by French Apple site MacGeneration, which uses its own tracking system to analyze App Store content. According to their data, the milestone was reached, although Apple has not publicly announced it.

The Mac App Store launched in early 2011 with more than 1,000 applications, including Apple's iWork suite of software. Its most high profile release to date was OS X 10.7 Lion, which launched last summer exclusively on the Mac App Store.

To date, Lion remains the most popular and highest grossing paid application available on the Mac App Store. Its successor, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, will also hit the Mac App Store this summer.

The lack of availability on Lion on a traditional disc marked a shift for Apple, which conducted a mass discontinuation of boxed retail software last July. Products no longer available in a boxed form include iWork, Aperture, and iLife.

Earlier this month, Apple also stopped offering free trials of the iWork suite and Aperture from its website. Users looking to download the trials are now directed to view the paid software on the Mac App Store.

The Mac App Store has been seen as a crucial part of Apple's strategy going forward with Mac hardware, as the company looks to remove spinning disc drives from its next generation of MacBook Pros. The new MacBook Pros, which are expected to arrive within a matter of weeks, will borrow many design elements from Apple's ultraportable MacBook Air lineup.