It is the end of the year and Apple is back with its App Store Awards to spotlight the apps and games that inspire users to engage more deeply with the world, expand their imaginations, and stay connected to friends and loved ones. The winners were selected by Apple’s global App Store editorial team and represent a diverse community from around the world.
“This year’s App Store Award winners reimagined our experiences with apps that delivered fresh, thoughtful, and genuine perspectives. From self-taught solo creators to international teams spanning the globe, these entrepreneurs are making a meaningful impact, and represent the ways in which apps and games influence our communities and lives.”
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO
This year’s winners represent the abundant possibilities across the App Store and Apple’s ecosystem of devices. Innovative social app BeReal gives users an authentic look into the lives of their family and friends, and fitness tracker Gentler Streak helps users balance fitness and rest to maintain a healthy lifestyle. GoodNotes 5 takes digital note-taking to the next level with best-in-class Apple Pencil support, while MacFamilyTree 10 sparks the exploration of genealogy through stunning visual family trees and collaboration with loved ones around the world.
Apex Legends Mobile brings the fast-paced hit battle royale game to iPhone. Moncage’s memorable puzzles brilliantly play with perspective, and the immersive card battler Inscryption draws players in with experimental storytelling. El Hijo, a Wild West tale, is a smartly designed stealth game that looks exceptional on the big screen with Apple TV.
Here is the list of 2022 App Store Award Winners:
Apps
iPhone App of the Year: BeReal, from BeReal.
iPad App of the Year: GoodNotes 5, from Time Base Technology Limited.
Mac App of the Year: MacFamilyTree 10, from Synium Software GmbH.
Apple Watch App of the Year: Gentler Streak, from Gentler Stories LLC.
Games
iPhone Game of the Year: Apex Legends Mobile, from Electronic Arts.
iPad Game of the Year: Moncage, from X.D. Network Inc.
Mac Game of the Year: Inscryption, from Devolver.
Apple TV Game of the Year: El Hijo, from HandyGames.
Cultural Impact Winners
In addition to recognising the best apps and games on Apple devices, Apple’s App Store editors selected five Cultural Impact winners that have made a lasting impact on people’s lives and influenced culture. This year’s winners encourage users to engage more deeply with their emotions, authentically connect with others, and pay homage to their heritage and the generations that came before them while envisioning how to create a better world today.
How We Feel from the How We Feel Project, Inc.
By prompting users to tap into their emotional well-being with the ease of daily check-ins, How We Feel helps users put difficult emotions into words and presents strategies to address these emotions in the moment.
Dot’s Home from the Rise-Home Stories Project
Dot’s Home spotlights systemic housing injustices and the subsequent impact within communities of colour through a compelling and thoughtful time-traveling tale.
Locket Widget from Locket Labs, Inc.
Allowing users to send live photos right to family and friends’ Home Screen, Locket Widget drives intimate connection between loved ones, free from traditional social media pressures.
Waterllama from Vitalii Mogylevets
With its colourful design and gentle guidance, Waterllama makes meeting hydration goals fun, using creative challenges, reminders, and cuddly characters to keep users on track.
Inua – A Story in Ice and Time from ARTE Experience
Inua – A Story in Ice and Time provides an engaging, mystical adventure for users to explore historical events that weave in elements of Inuit traditions, folklore, and breathtaking tales.
For over a decade, Apple has honoured the best app and games at each end of the year. To acknowledge the impact of the winning developer teams, each winner will receive a physical award inspired by the signature blue App Store icon. Developed through meticulous craftsmanship, the award includes the App Store logo set into 100 percent recycled aluminium used to make Apple products, with the name of the winner engraved on the other side.
