Apple's Best of the iTunes Store 2014: 'Elevate' and 'Pixelmator' Win Top App Honors

bestof2014
Apple today released the 2014 version of its iTunes Store awards, which highlights the best music, movies, TV shows, apps, books and podcasts of the year.

Here are some of the top-level winners for 2014:

Apps:
iPhone App of the Year: Elevate - Brain Training
iPhone Game of the Year: Threes!
iPad App of the Year: Pixelmator
iPad Game of the Year: Monument Valley

Music:
Best Artist: Beyoncé
Best Album: 1989 by Taylor Swift
Best Song: Fancy (feat. Charli XCX) by Iggy Azalea
Best New Artist: Sam Smith

Movies:
Best Blockbuster: Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Family Movie: The LEGO Movie
Best Director: Richard Linklater
Best Discovery: Obvious Child

TV Shows:
TV Show of the Year: Fargo
Best Performances: True Detective, Season 1
Best Discovery: The Honorable Woman
Best Breakthrough: Key & Peele, Volume 4

Books:
Best Fiction: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Best Nonfiction: The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs

Apple has also given its end of the year charts for the most downloaded and top grossing iPhone and iPad apps. For the iPhone, Heads Up!, Facebook Messenger, and Clash of Clans finished as the top paid, top free, and top grossing app, respectively. For the iPad, Minecraft - Pocket Edition, YouTube, and Clash of Clans finished as the top paid, top free, and top grossing app, respectively.

As customary for its end of the year listings, Apple has also highlighted various games and apps from a wide variety of categories. The company is also featuring content across the various genres and categories for each content type.

A list of previous winners are also available here: 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 3 4ths Perspective Aluminum Camera Module 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

10 Products Still Coming From Apple in 2025

Friday April 11, 2025 4:14 pm PDT by
Apple may have updated several iPads and Macs late last year and early this year, but there are still multiple new devices that we're looking forward to seeing in 2025. Most will come in September or October, but there could be a few surprises before then. We've rounded up a list of everything that we're still waiting to see from Apple in 2025. iPhone 17, 17 Air, and 17 Pro - We get...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone Resolutions Leak With Under-Screen Camera Tipped

Monday April 14, 2025 3:12 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone (or "iPhone Fold") will feature two screens as part of its book-style design, and a Chinese leaker claims to know the resolutions for both of them. According to the Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station, the inner display, which is approximately 7.76 inches, will use a 2,713 x 1,920 resolution and feature "under-screen camera technology." Meanwhile, the...
iPad Pro iPadOS

iPadOS 19 Will Be 'More Like macOS' in Three Ways

Sunday April 13, 2025 6:43 am PDT by
A common complaint about the iPad Pro is that the iPadOS software platform fails to fully take advantage of the device's powerful hardware. That could soon change. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that iPadOS 19 will be "more like macOS." Gurman said that iPadOS 19 will be "more like a Mac" in three ways:Improved productivity Improved multitasking Improved app window management...
Apple Vision Pro with battery Feature Blue Magenta

Vision Pro 2 Rumored to Have Two Key Advantages Over Current Model

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:15 am PDT by
Apple is working on a new version of the Vision Pro with two key advantages over the current model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Specifically, in his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said Apple is developing a new headset that is both lighter and less expensive than the current Vision Pro, which starts at $3,499 in the U.S. and weighs up to 1.5 pounds. Gurman said Apple is also...
Apple Bristol Current

An Apple Store in the UK is Permanently Closing Later This Year

Monday April 14, 2025 7:33 am PDT by
Apple has confirmed that it will be permanently closing its retail store in the heart of Bristol, England, and there is no replacement in sight. Apple Bristol in 2023 Apple Bristol will be closing its doors on Saturday, August 9, due to redevelopment plans at the Cabot Circus Shopping Centre, and the adjacent Bristol Shopping Quarter. According to news reports, and a building application, the ...
iPhone 6s MacRumors YouTube

Apple Says These Products Are Now Vintage

Tuesday April 15, 2025 9:53 am PDT by
Apple today updated its vintage products list to add the 2018 Mac mini and the iPhone 6s, devices that will get more limited service and repairs now that they are considered vintage. The iPhone 6s initially launched in 2015, but Apple kept it around as a low-cost device until 2018, which is why it is only now being added to the vintage list. The iPhone 6s had Apple's A9 chip, and it was...

Top Rated Comments

Zxxv Avatar
135 months ago
Seems to be a mistake

Music:
Best Artist: Beyoncé
Best Album: 1989 by Taylor Swift
Best Song: Fancy (feat. Charli XCX) by Iggy Azalea
Best New Artist: Sam Smith

I'll correct for you

Music:
Best Artist: U2
Best Album: U2
Best Song: U2
Best New Artist: U2
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HiVolt Avatar
135 months ago
Taylor Swift? Iggy Azalea?

Seriously Apple? This isn't music...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PinkyMacGodess Avatar
135 months ago
Is Apple going to do the 12 days of Christmas app again?

----------

Beyonce and TS? They must mean most sold...which does not mean the best.

But they are the best for somebody.

I so hate this new wave of corporate manufactured 'music'. It's just Milli Vanilli with a thicker coat of paint.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
a-bob Avatar
135 months ago
Beyonce and TS? They must mean most sold...which does not mean the best.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dalecook Avatar
135 months ago
What about Mac App Store too?

What about Mac App Store too?



*cough*Affinity Designer is runner up*cough* and the winner is Notability.

For Mac games the winner is Tomb Raider and the runner up is Transistor.

For transparency please note I work with the Serif team that makes Affinity Designer :).
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dalecook Avatar
135 months ago
Affinity needs to focus on what they do best. What they do best is vector based graphics.

There's lots happening; Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher are already part-written and on a common code base with Affinity Designer. When the suite is complete the apps will share around 80% of their code and this will be one of the suite's strengths. Serif has already been making graphics, image editing and desktop publishing software for decades so hopefully you will soon see that Affinity Designer is only the start of the new era, not a single competency.

Thanks again for the kind comments and support you're all showing the team!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)