Monday, March 05, 2012, 08:38 am

25 billionth download from Apple's iOS App Store was 'Where's My Water?'

By AppleInsider Staff

A user from Qingdao, China, downloaded the free application "Where's My Water?" as the 25 billionth download from the App Store, Apple announced on Monday.

User Chunli Fu was the winner of Apple's contest, earning them a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card. "Where's My Water" is a mobile game available on the App Store and published by Disney, available both as a free "lite" version and a full paid copy for 99 cents.

"We’d like to thank our customers and developers for helping us achieve this historic milestone of 25 billion apps downloaded," Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said a press release. "When we launched the App Store less than four years ago, we never imagined that mobile apps would become the phenomenon they have, or that developers would create such an incredible selection of apps for iOS users."

There are currently more than 550,000 applications available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in 123 countries around the world. More than 170,000 of those applications are available natively for the iPad.

Applications on the App Store are available in 21 different categories ranging from games to sports to business or health and fitness. More than $4 billion has been paid out to developers who sell software on the App Store.


The App Store reached the 25 billion download milestone on Saturday, though Apple did not announce the winner of the $10,000 gift card until Monday. Over the weekend, the page counting down to the number was updated to say: "A billion thanks. 25 times over. The App Store has reached 25 billion downloads. Thanks for getting us there."