Each year, Apple’s editorial team sits down and selects the best apps and games available on the platform. The team touches on various aspects to give the awards. Like other years before it, Apple has now decided on and revealed 14 different winners out of a list of dozens of finalists.
Apps and games available for macOS, iPhone, and iPad are included in the 2023 App Store awards. There are categories for both ‘games of the year,’ and ‘apps of the year,’ for each platform. There are awards given to certain apps for Apple Watch & Apple TV as well!
“This year’s winners represent the limitless potential of developers to bring their visions to life, creating apps and games with remarkable ingenuity, exceptional quality, and purpose-driven missions.” – Tim Cook, Apple CEO
Here is the full list of Apple’s App Store 2023 awards winners. We will start with the best apps of 2023 first and then move on to games. However, there are also other categories like Cultural Impact Winners and even the Trend of the Year.
Best Apps of the Year in 2023 App Store Awards
| iPhone App of the Year | AllTrails: Hike, Bike & Run |
| iPad App of the Year | Prêt-à-Makeup |
| Apple Watch App of the Year | SmartGym: Gym & Home Workouts |
| Apple TV App of the Year | MUBI: Stream Great Cinema |
| Mac App of the Year | Photomator – Photo Editor |
Best Games of the Year in 2023 App Store Awards
| iPhone Game of the Year | Honkai: Star Rail (RPG) |
| iPad Game of the Year | Lost in Play (Adventure) |
| Mac Game of the Year | Lies of P (Action) |
| Apple Arcade Game of the Year | Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Adventure) |
Cultural Impact Winners in 2023 App Store Awards
There is another category for the 2023 App Store awards. These ‘cultural impact’ winners have won the award due to their unique ability to inspire a positive change amongst users through the power of app & game design.
- Pok Pok | Montessori Preschool (Digital Toyroom for Kids)
- Proloquo (Alternative Communication Tool)
- Too Good To Go: End Food Waste (Food & Drink)
- Unpacking (Casual Game)
- Finding Hannah (Hidden Object Game)
Trend Of The Year: Generative AI
Apple has called ‘Generative AI‘ the trend of the year. We are definitely seeing an influx of AI technology into the latest applications made by developers today. Highly innovative AI apps, such as ChatGPT, have been featured by Apple in this category. Next, the popular creativity tool Canva also saw AI integration with the Magic Studio feature and has been mentioned on the list. Other AI apps featured in the App Store 2023 Awards under ‘trend of the year’ include Picsart, Pinterest, Craft, Artifact, Sololearn, and SmartDreams.
Is the trend of Generative AI going too far? As a non-expert in artificial intelligence, it is quite tough to say whether or not AI needs heavy regulation at the moment. I believe people should responsibly use AI. Being a new technology, it is prone to making mistakes and even outright hallucinating at times. A responsible human fact-checking an AI model’s final work is very much required, in my opinion. This ensures that low-quality & inaccurate artificially generated content avoids making its way to other users.
What are your thoughts on the 2023 App Store Awards from Apple? Let us know in the comments below.
