APP OF THE YEAR:

IMPROVING YOUR DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

SOME SURPRISES, AND SOME LESS SO

Apple has just announced its annual ‘best of’ selection of the apps that have conquered its categories over the last 12 months. As always, it is a mixture of the renowned and the newly launched – the expected and the unanticipated – and some of them have the potential to be genuine game-changers for ordinary users.

With so many incredible apps competing for the top spots this year, we thought it would be best to acknowledge their achievements as comprehensively as possible.

Here is the first of our two-part written applause, commending the accomplishments of 2018’s most popular apps – and those that could particularly improve your life over the next 12 months.

SIMPLER SELF-CARE

Mindfulness, motivation and meditation became easier to manage from the comfort of your own phone in 2018, making self-care the ‘app trend of the year’. Apps like Calm and 10% Happier: Meditation educated users in how to use simple breathing and listening techniques to keep a clear mind and calm conscience, while Fabulous – Motivate Me allowed users to set small, realistic personal goals and build new habits with easy steps.

Calm’s unique sleep stories seem to have helped it to score highly – and anybody who hasn’t experienced one yet should certainly take on the challenge of staying awake while listening to the tranquil sounds of Stephen Fry or Jerome Flynn reading them a bedtime story. Seeking to reduce the proliferation of insomnia among mobile users, Calm has become a more popular mindfulness option in 2018 than even Headspace.

COMPETITIVE AND COLLABORATIVE GAMING

From the app trend of the year, to the game trend of 2018 – battle royale unsurprisingly emerged victorious against the competition. While it will be no surprise to many people to see Fortnite and PUBG Mobile (Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds) top the charts, the turn-based Clash Royale – from the creators of Clash of Clans – and Hearthstone made the prestigious top four.

With more than 40 million people logging in to play Fortnite every month, in little more than 18 months the game has taken the entire world by storm and proved immensely popular among gamers of all ages. Even if you haven’t started playing any of the popular battle royale games yet, it’s certainly not too late to get involved. With every game beginning with up to 100 players, everyone starts equally with every turn, which is one of the reasons why Battle Royale has become increasingly popular throughout the year.

A ‘HOLE’ LOTTA FUN

However, the iPhone game of the year award doesn’t go to any of the above. This year, Apple has awarded the title to a story-based physics puzzle game in which, rather than play as a oneman army, you are actually a hole in the game itself. Donut County, by Annapurna Interactive, treats ‘trash as treasure’, in an innovative game that offers a unique, absorbing and increasingly more-ish experience involving players attempting to throw as much of a small town into the ground as they can.

Donut County is the creation of legendary game designer Ben Esposito (What Remains of Edith Finch and The Unfinished Swan), and for only $4.99, iPhone users can download this incredible, visually engaging title and see what all of the fuss – as well as the award – is about.

On the iPad, the game of the year award goes to another Annapurna Interactive title. Puzzle game Gorogoa is a revolutionary title in puzzle games, told and explored through a narrative of incredibly detailed, hand-drawn images and slides, illustrated by Jason Roberts. Players combine images in imaginative ways in order to solve clever puzzles – connecting art and game play in a way never before seen on any downloadable, app-based game. Suitable for all of the family, this one is equally as fun played alone or together.

POCKET-SIZED INSPIRATION

The award for iPhone app of the year goes to Procreate Pocket, which is one of the most powerful and inspiring painting and illustration apps ever created. With the power of a complete artist’s toolbox in the palm of your hand, users can easily manipulate their digital canvas, creating intriguing paintings, stunning illustrations and incredible works of art – all on the move.

One for the creatives, with Procreate Pro you will find yourself with more options in terms of brushes, color schemes and customizable tools than you will experience anywhere other than desktop software. Designers will be pleasantly surprised by the app’s full layering system and object groupings – akin to leading design software – while users more accustomed to less advanced digital art software will still find it easy to manage. Available for $4.99, Procreate Pocket is 2018’s most impactful app for those who love playing with imagery and photography.

FREE AND EASY

Many of the big hitters feature in Apple’s list of the top free-to-download apps, with the most notable change being YouTube jumping from number three in 2017 to the top spot this year. Snapchat and Bitmoji, last year’s top two, have both fallen away slightly (dropping to two and five respectively), while Messenger , at three, just slightly outranks Facebook, at four, with Netflix, Google Maps, Gmail and Spotify Music making up the top 10.

Notably, YouTube Kids has made the top 10 of the free-to-download apps for the iPad. Providing families with a reassuring alternative to the regular version, and with no compromise in Internet safety for the young user, this app is the first ‘child friendly’ option to hit any of the main top 10 categories in Apple’s app awards this year.

ORIGINAL ORGANIZATION

Also faring fantastically this year were several apps designed specifically to help users to organize and personalize their plans. Notability and GoodNotes 4 ranked highly in the Productivity charts this year, providing users with unique ways of recording plans, annotating photos and scheduling events, using only the swipe of a finger or stylus.

Both apps use handwriting technology to convert scribbles into text, and allow for the annotation of PDF documents. Notability is only slightly more expensive, at $9.99 (compared to $7.99), and makes excellent use of the iPad Pro’s dual-screen capabilities as you drag and drop files, photos, GIFs, web pages and more from other applications into the app itself. GoodNotes 4, however, has a more familiar feel, and bridges the gap perfectly between the standard iOS notes application and a more advanced form of organizing your personal documents.

So there you have it... so far... the first part of Apple’s most popular apps of 2018. With apps to help you to clear your mind and meticulously organize your schedule, as well as to have some fun somewhere in the middle, we’ve covered self-care, productivity and gaming and been through various free and ever-popular apps that you may well already own and use daily.

Next week, we’ll be looking at the most popular apps for the Apple Watch, seeing what developers have delivered for finance management and business in 2018, examining the latest innovations in AR within apps, and more. Take a look at our next issue to find out more about the many apps that could improve your life as we approach the New Year.