Apple announces App Store Award winners
Exemplary apps and games recognised
Apple has revealed the winners of its annual App Store Awards, with developers honoured across the Apple ecosystem. There was an interesting mix of newcomers and familiar faces among the recipients.
The iPhone App of the Year gong went to hiking app AllTrails, while beauty app Prêt-àMakeup was victorious on iPad. Image editor Photomator won on Mac, video streamer MUBI was the Apple TV champion, and fitness trainer SmartGym was the pick of the Apple Watch apps.
As for games, the winners ranged from Honkai: Star Rail on iPhone and Lost in Play on iPad to Hello Kitty Island Adventure on Apple Arcade. And in a great year for Mac gaming, when multiple AAA titles launched for Apple fans, Lies of P took home the title.
Apple also awards prizes to apps it feels have made a strong “cultural impact” and “drive positive change” in the world. Here, the winners included meditative puzzle game Unpacking, preschool play-space Pok Pok, communication tool Proloquo, coming-of-age game Finding Hannah, and Too Good to Go, an app that aims to reduce food waste.
Finally, artificial intelligence (AI) was named Apple’s Trend of the Year. Considering the impact of tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney, it’s an unsurprising feat.