Eleven days earlier than expected, Apple on Sunday gave away the first freebie as part of its "12 Days of Gifts" app promotion, which will offer almost two weeks' worth of free apps, songs and other digital content to users over the holiday season.
Those who have already downloaded Apple's 12 Days of Gifts iOS app were met with a nice surprise on Sunday, as Apple gave away Lorde's latest single "No Better," which debuted in the iTunes store on Friday. The download also includes a music video for the artist's breakout hit "Royals."
Dubbed as a "gift to get you started," the song/music video combo download comes 11 days prior to the official start date of Apple's "12 Days of Gifts" promotion, slated to kick off on Dec. 26. Currently, the 12 Days of Gifts app acts as a countdown timer to that date.
This year will be the first Apple has included the U.S. in its annual giveaway tradition, which was previously limited to iOS device users in Europe and Canada. As in past years, Apple will be giving away a free downloadable song, app, book, movie or TV show each day from Dec. 26 though Jan. 6. Offers can be claimed through the app and are valid for 24 hours.
12 Days of Gifts comes in at 64.7MB and can be downloaded for free from the iOS App Store.