Apple has announced that its app store has exceeded downloads of over an amazing 40 billion.

The most staggering thing about the milestone is that over half of those downloads happened during 2012 alone.

Last year was a record breaking one in general with December tipping the scales with over two billion apps being downloaded by Apple's some 500 million users.

Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services said of the achievement: "It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community."

"Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store, and we continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world."

One of the biggest free apps to be downloaded from the App Store was the YouTube app with games such as Angry Birds Space also proving incredibly popular with users.

Apple faces stiff competition from the Android platform though Apple enthusiasts can look forward to the next generation of iPhone and iPads which are expected to emerge later this year.

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