“We all know that Apple is closing in on a billion app downloads in the App Store. Currently, the counter on the main Apple.com claims it’s about 10 million away from the major number. But, Apple apparently already knows when the billion mark is going to be passed, because the billion celebration page is ready to go and can easily be accessed, right now,” MG Siegler reports for TechCrunch.
“Simply go to your system settings and set the date and time to anytime after that mark, and reload the main Apple page. You’ll be greeted by big picture on the landing page reading, ‘Thanks a billion. Over a billion downloads in just nine months. Only on the App Store,'” Siegler reports.
“Of course, this means that the number is at least somewhat tied (update below) to your computer’s clock rather than an actual billion app sales mark being triggered. Not that it’s all that surprising. After all, with so many apps being sold every second, can you really expect Apple to do anything other than estimate? This would be an issue though if said it was giving away a prize to the person who specifically downloaded the billionth app (it’s not),” Siegler reports.
MacDailyNews Note: From Apple’s official rules: For purposes of the Promotion, the downloading of the 1 billionth app is considered to be either the downloading of the 1 billionth app from iTunes or the receipt of the non-purchase entry after the download of the 999,999,999th app, whichever comes first.
As the billionth download approaches, “Apple is constantly tweaking the exact timing,” Siegler reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Old news made “new” again: Unsurprisingly, this is exactly how Apple’s iTunes song download countdowns have worked in the past.
