Apple Announces Winner of App Store's 50 Billionth Download Contest - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Announces Winner of App Store's 50 Billionth Download Contest

say_the_same_thingApple today announced the winner of its "50 Billion App Countdown" promotion that saw the company pass that milestone on Wednesday afternoon.

Word game Say the Same Thing from the band OK Go was the milestone download, with Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio making the winning download. Ashmore will will receive an iTunes Gift Card worth US$10,000. For the first time, Apple also gave the fifty downloaders after the big winner US$500 iTunes Gift Cards.

“Apple would like to thank our incredible customers and developers for topping 50 billion apps downloaded,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers. We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years.”

Apple ran similar promotions for ten billion and twenty-five billion downloads, in January 2011 and March 2012 respectively.

The App Store took just under five years to hit the fifty billion download mark, though the rate of downloads has been accelerating and is now at more than 20 billion app downloads per year.

Popular Stories

macworld iphone 18 pro colors

iPhone 18 Pro's Four Rumored Colors Revealed, Including 'Dark Cherry'

Friday April 17, 2026 3:50 am PDT by
A source said to be familiar with Apple's supply chain today revealed the color options Apple is planning for the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the upcoming foldable iPhone. Image via Macworld. The information comes from Macworld, which says the signature new color for this year's Pro models will be Dark Cherry, a deep wine-like red. While other sources had previously reported on a...
ipad mini 7 feature red and blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday April 15, 2026 8:15 am PDT by
According to the latest rumors, Apple is close to launching its next-generation iPad mini. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code...
macOS 27 on MacBook Pro

macOS 27 Will Mark the End of an Era

Saturday April 18, 2026 6:45 am PDT by
During its Platforms State of the Union segment at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe is the final major macOS version for Intel-based Macs. The upcoming macOS 27 release will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update. macOS 27 should be available...

Top Rated Comments

169 months ago
I was really hoping it would be something embarrassing like Grindr Xtra.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
169 months ago
I was sleeping while the 50th billion app was downloaded. :o
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AQUADock Avatar
169 months ago
Will he be allowed to sell it in $100 chunks on eBay? Who the heck would EVER spend that much for fart apps?

I think that cash would have been a better prize than a credit at the app store so big that it can never be used.

The guidelines state that the winnings are not transferable, and fart apps are not the only applications sold in the app store.
I was never aware that large amounts of money can be so large that they cannot be used. Troll harder next time.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Amadeus71 Avatar
169 months ago
What were the odds of the winner coming from the US ?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
169 months ago
Do you think Apple pick the exact 50 billionth app as the winner, or they look a few downloads either side for one that is worthy of publicizing?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
169 months ago
Will he be allowed to sell it in $100 chunks on eBay? Who the heck would EVER spend that much for fart apps?

I think that cash would have been a better prize than a credit at the app store so big that it can never be used.
Fart apps. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)