Apple Amps Up Promotion for 50 Billion App Milestone

Apple today increased its promotion for the upcoming milestone of 50 billion downloads from the App Store, an event the company is marking with a contest in which the person who downloads the 50 billionth app will receives a $10,000 iTunes Store gift card while the next 50 downloaders will receive $500 gift cards each.

apple_50_billion_solar_walk
The milestone is now being promoted as the main feature on Apple's front page, with an animated counter being accompanied by a rotating series of iPad mini app photos with associated facts to put the "50 billion" number in perspective:

- "With 50 billion steps, you could walk around the earth more than 800 times." [Solar Walk]

- "With 50 billion bricks, you could build 12 Great Walls of China." [ProCamera HD]

- "Counting to 50 billion would take you 1600 years." [Intro to Math, by Montessorium]

Apple announced the contest one week ago, and the counter stood at slightly over 49.2 billion downloads at the time. With the counter now registering a little over 49.6 billion downloads, it should take just under another week to reach the milestone.

(Thanks, Ben!)

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...

Top Rated Comments

MasterHowl Avatar
153 months ago
I would literally cry with happiness if I won a $10,000 iTunes Store gift card. I'd never have to spend another penny on music again!
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LagunaSol Avatar
153 months ago
Pfft, Android hit 50 billion pirated app downloads like 6 months ago. ;)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iGrip Avatar
153 months ago
Billions and Billions Served!

You can always tell what is the absolute finest quality by how many items get sold.

You want the finest apps? The AppStore sells billions, so they must be the best!

You want the finest hamburger? McDonalds sells billions, so they must be the best!

You want the finest computer OS? Windows sells billions, so it must be the best!

You want the finest apps? The AppStore sells billions, so they must be the best!


That is the only way that this campaign makes any sense whatsoever. Apple has brilliant marketing! /s
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TouchMint.com Avatar
153 months ago
Cant wait for one of my apps to be downloaded as the 50 billionth app. =) What a promo that would be!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xkmxkmxlmx Avatar
153 months ago
You can always tell what is the absolute finest quality by how many items get sold.

You want the finest apps? The AppStore sells billions, so they must be the best!

You want the finest hamburger? McDonalds sells billions, so they must be the best!

You want the finest computer OS? Windows sells billions, so it must be the best!

You want the finest apps? The AppStore sells billions, so they must be the best!


That is the only way that this campaign makes any sense whatsoever. Apple has brilliant marketing! /s

Or you know, they are just pinting out a milestone. I don't think they mention anywhere how "quality" the apps are. Just that the store is hitting a big milestone for them. What is the big deal?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
samcraig Avatar
153 months ago
I would almost bet 10K that the app named as the 50 billionth will not be a Google app. Or a Samsung one.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)