Apple app store hits 50 billion downloads milestone

The number of downloads from Apple’s app store has doubled since March 2012, when the company hit the 25 million mark

Apple’s app store hit the 50 billion downloads mark yesterday, five years after launching.

The Californian firm made the announcement just hours after rival operating system Android’s creator, Google, said it had reached 48 billion downloads.

The person who downloaded the 50 billionth app, Brandon Ashmore from Ohio, will receive a $10,000 (£6,544) gift card to spend in the Apple app store, and the next fifty downloaders will receive a $500 gift card.

It has taken just over a year for Apple to double the number of apps downloaded from the store. In March 2012, it announced it had reached the 25 million mark.