As first noted by The Verge, a number of popular paid App Store apps have been discounted to free for the first time in their histories today.
While no specific announcement regarding the sales has been given, Wednesday marks the App Store's fifth anniversary and it is possible that Apple will be rolling out a special promotion in honor of the occasion. With no additional information available, it is currently unknown how long these sales will last.
Last week, Apple sent out commemorative posters to members of the media in celebration of the App Store's fifth anniversary, and less than two months ago Apple celebrated 50 billion downloads since the store's opening.
Update: Apple has now officially launched its "5 Years of the App Store" promotion [App Store link] featuring the above apps.
From the 500 apps available at launch in 2008 to the more than 900,000 at your fingertips today, it's been a remarkably prolific five years for the App Store. To celebrate, we're giving everyone five landmark games and five groundbreaking apps for a limited time. Plus, look back at the key moments that have made the App Store the world's most innovative destination for apps.
The feature also includes a timeline of milestones similar to that seen on the promotional posters sent to members of the media last week.
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports.
In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker.
According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found.
Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you.
Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future.
"I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta.
Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...
Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre.
Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year....
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Can't complain about free stuff. But I bet you someone will..
Oh my God, free stuff? First Apple screw us over by releasing new products, rendering my OLD 2005 PowerBook G4 COMPLETELY obsolete :mad: Then they discount products that I paid for ages ago because I enjoyed them, and made them free? :mad: They should keep everything expensive for everybody else so I don't feel bad about my purchases. :mad:
Honestly, Apple's completely gone downhill since Steve died. Steve would never have allowed this. Tim Cook is a rubbish CEO. Apple should start innovating rather than spending their time in courtrooms. iOS 7 looks like it was designed by a child with crayons, whilst wearing oven gloves. Android rocks, Apple are just copying. Apple are doomed. /s
I think that's pretty much covered everything guys ;)
Just in case people are not aware, you can purchase the free app(s) on your iDevice and delete the app(s) while they are still downloading. This way you can just purchase the app for future use and not have it installed right away. Also by deleting while it's still downloading, you don't have to wait until it finishes (which is useful for larger apps). You just delete them like you normally do with any other app.
As first noted by The Verge, a number of popular paid App Store apps have been discounted to free for the first time in their histories today.
