With the end of the year approaching, Apple has been highlighting the best of 2023. First was Apple Music, then Podcasts and Books, all leading up to the biggest award of all: the App Store. Apple has announced the winners of its 2023 App Store Award for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac, and many of them are familiar faces.
The winner this year is AllTrails, which launched in 2010. Widely regarded as the premier hiking app, AllTrails offers access to comprehensive trail guides and maps for outdoor enthusiasts and fosters a robust community of hikers. The iPad app of the year is Prêt-à-Makeup, which offers a unique “digital face chart” for testing new looks and color combinations. And over on the Mac, photo editor Photomator got the nod for its advanced AI and machine-learning tools. (We reviewed Photomator and it’s in our round-up of the best photo editing apps for Mac.)
Speaking of AI, Apple spotlighted the generative AI movement as the Trend of the Year, showcasing ChatGPT, Canva, and Picsart as apps that “gave users a chance to see, firsthand, the technology in action and come to their own conclusions about the benefits and risks.”
The rest of the winners are:
- Apple TV App of the Year: MUBI, from MUBI, Inc
- Apple Watch App of the Year: SmartGym, from Mateus Abras
- iPhone Game of the Year: Honkai: Star Rail, from COGNOSPHERE PTE. LTD
- iPad Game of the Year: Lost in Play, from Snapbreak Games
- Mac Game of the Year: Lies of P, from NEOWIZ
- Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Hello Kitty Island Adventure, from Sunblink
Apple also highlighted several Cultural Impact winners, which were “recognized for their ability to drive positive change through apps and games.” The five winners are Pok Pok from Pok Pok, Proloquo from AssistiveWare, Too Good To Go from Too Good To Go, Unpacking from Humble Bundle, and Finding Hannah from Fein Games GmbH.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.