App Store Awards 2025: Top Apps and Games Revealed

Apple highlights standout apps and games across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, Apple Watch, and Apple TV, with cultural impact picks and expert insights.

Apple has announced the winners of its App Store Awards for 2025, highlighting apps and games that blend innovation, usability, and modern design across Apple devices. The awards celebrate apps across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, Apple Watch, and Apple TV, recognizing projects that shape digital culture and everyday life.

App of the Year Winners

iPhone App of the Year: Tiimo

Tiimo is a visual planning tool that helps users organize daily routines with simple schedules, supporting steady, predictable habits.

iPad App of the Year: Detail

Detail is a professional mobile video toolkit that combines recording, editing, and streaming, turning the iPad into a compact mobile studio.

Mac App of the Year: Essayist

Essayist offers a writing environment with smart style analysis, giving suggestions on tone and structure to help clear, effective writing.

Vision Pro App of the Year: Explore POV

Explore POV streams 180-degree 3D videos from spectacular places. Its library of hundreds of clips, including beaches, jungles, mountains, and waterfalls, invites virtual travel from home.

Apple Watch App of the Year: Strava

Strava is a fitness app with strong activity-tracking features, compiling detailed workout data and keeping motivation high through a large community.

Apple TV App of the Year: HBO Max

HBO Max offers a vast library of films and series with easy navigation and reliable playback on a big screen.

Game of the Year Winners

iPhone Game of the Year: Pokémon TCG Pocket

The mobile version of the popular Pokemon trading card game, featuring daily card sets and fast-paced matches.

iPad Game of the Year: DREDGE

A storytelling adventure with fishing and horror elements. Exploring a remote archipelago gradually uncovers dark secrets and a sense of unsettling immersion.

Mac Game of the Year: Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition

The complete edition of the iconic RPG, including a major expansion and optimized performance for Mac users.

Vision Pro Game of the Year: Porta Nubi

A title designed for spatial gameplay, letting players explore surreal environments and solve puzzles with gestures and movement.

Apple Arcade Game of the Year: WHAT THE CLASH?

A quirky arcade title from the creators of WHAT THE GOLF? that constantly twists traditional mechanics and creates surprising play moments.

Apps and Games with Cultural Impact

Art of Fauna

This project turns wildlife illustrations into relaxing, accessible puzzles. Its gentle visuals and attention to detail help players focus and unwind.

Chants of Sennaar

An exploration of language and communication through a calm adventure where players decipher a fictional script.

despelote

A compact but emotionally rich narrative set in a football-loving city, built from everyday scenes and childhood memories to feel authentic.

Be My Eyes

An app that combines artificial intelligence with volunteer help to support people who are visually impaired, assisting with daily tasks and independence.

Focus Friend

A tool that helps reduce distractions by turning focus into a small, rewarding game.

StoryGraph

A reading platform that recommends titles based on mood and preferences while highlighting diverse authors and voices.

Google previously announced its top Android apps and games of the year.

Expert comment

Expert comment: The 2025 awards demonstrate Apple’s focus on accessibility, creativity, and performance across devices. The selections show how thoughtful design can improve both everyday tasks and leisure.

Summary

Apple’s 2025 App Store Awards celebrate apps and games that simplify daily life while delivering immersive experiences across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. The lineup includes productivity tools, media creators, and narrative-driven games with strong accessibility features. Google’s Android picks reflect a year of innovation across the Android ecosystem as well.