With the end of 2023 fast approaching, Apple has today revealed the winners of its prestigious App Store Awards for this year, including its coveted iPhone App of the Year award.
14 apps and games were recognized in total from a selection of 40 finalists. Apple says the winners “empowered users to unleash their creativity, discover a world of new adventures, and have fun with family and friends” and were chosen “for providing users with meaningful experiences and inspiring cultural change.”
App Store Awards 2023 - Meet the winners
The iPhone App of the Year was AllTrails, an outdoor hiking companion that lets you search over 400,000 trails around the world, helping you plan and navigate safely as you hike, bike, or run.
The iPad App of the Year Prêt-à-Makeup, a digital face chart that lets you experiment with makeup and combinations of products offering “a true-to-life makeup sketchpad on iPad for professional artists and casual users while fostering inclusivity and self-expression.”
The Mac App of the Year was Photomator, an excellent photo editing suite from the good people of Pixelmator who also make my go-to photo-editing app, Pixelmator Pro. Photomator uses machine learning and AI to help streamline tasks like batch editing, leveraging the power of Apple silicon in devices like the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.
The Apple TV App of the Year is the streaming app MUBI, which helps users discover films including indie titles and international documentaries. It’s an interesting choice given Apple offers its own broader curation through the Apple TV app.
Finally, the Apple Watch App of the Year is SmartGym, which we here at iMore have previously recommended as one of the best health and fitness apps for Apple Watch. It uses AI to create personalized workouts and track progress, based on your equipment and location. It also tracks reps, sets, and weight as well as rest times, and got a huge update with version 7 earlier this year.
Apple also honors a Game of the Year for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Arcade, and the winners were Honkai: Star Rail, Lost in Play, Lies of P, and Hello Kitty Island Adventure respectively.
Apple also dished out five Cultural Impact Awards for apps and games “recognized for their ability to drive positive change.” The winners were:
Pok Pok from Pok Pok
Proloquo from AssistiveWare
Too Good To Go from Too Good To Go
Unpacking from Humble Bundle
Finding Hannah from Fein Games GmbH
