Apple app store clocks 40 bn downloads, half of it in 2012 alone

The Apple App Store has crossed another landmark, clocking 40 billion downloads so far . The staggering fact here is that nearly 20 billion apps were downloaded in 2012 alone.

Apple's developer community has created over 775,000 apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users worldwide, and developers have been paid over $7 billion by the technology giant.

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

With over 500 million active accounts, the store had a record-breaking December with over two billion downloads.

One of the success stories of the 2012 was Temple Run which clocked 75 million downloads just on iOS. The app has been developed by Imangi Studios founded by the husband and wife team of Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova.

"The success of our game Temple Run in 2012 was nothing short of astonishing," said Shepherd. "We were simply looking to create a game that was fun and easy to play, but once it hit the App Store, the game took off. This past year, we saw more than 75 million downloads of Temple Run on iOS."