Apple's 25 Billion App Download Contest Winner Flown to Beijing for Award Ceremony
Earlier this month, Apple announced that the winner of its 25 billion app countdown contest was Fu Chunli, a resident of Qingdao, China who was awarded an iTunes Store gift card valued at $10,000. Her milestone download was Disney's Where's My Water? Free.
Fu Chunli shows off her $10,000 iTunes Store gift card of the winner, summarizing Chinese-language reports noting that she had only been an iPhone user for a month at the time of milestone and had been unaware of the contest until she was contacted by Apple.
Fu Chunli was not a big fan of Apple, and had only purchased her iPhone for about one month, still learning how to use the App Store. She didn’t know anything about the competition until she was contacted by Apple. When she received a call from staff at Apple (China), she thought it was a hoax. She was still confused when a friend told her that she received a prize from Apple, but did not believe her luck until she saw an email from Apple Inc.
The reports note that Chunli was invited to visit Apple's Chinese headquarters in Beijing last week, having been flown to the city at Apple's expense. Following a visit to corporate headquarters, she visited the company's Sanlitun retail store where an award ceremony was held to present her with the gift card and conduct interviews with the media. She also received training on her iPhone and the App Store and took the time to test drive some of the other Apple merchandise in the store.
Apple has been making a major push into China, with the company expanding its distribution reach there and working to build Chinese-focused features into several of its products in an effort to strengthen the appeal of the company's products there. Just today, Apple CEO Tim Cook was spotted at the Xidan Joy City retail store in Beijing as he visited the country to meet with undisclosed officials.
Popular Stories
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
