Apple Shares the 'Best of 2018' Highlighting Top Apps, Games, Music, TV Shows, Movies and More

Apple today presented its best of 2018 lists, highlighting the apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, books, and audiobooks that "shaped entertainment and culture around the world this year."

Apple shares its top lists for the App Store, iTunes Store, and more each and every year, and this year's lists are available via the Apple Newsroom.

applebestapps2018
According to Apple, the App Trend of the Year is "Self-Care," featuring wellness apps like Fabulous, Shine, and Calm. The Game Trend of the Year was, unsurprisingly, "Battle Royale-style gaming" so named because of the popularity of apps like Fortnite and PUBG.

Apple's other top app and game lists are below, with Apple offering up separate winners for the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac.

  • iPhone App of the Year - Procreate Pocket
  • iPhone Game of the Year - Donut County
  • iPad App of the Year - Froggipedia
  • iPad Game of the Year - Gorogoa
  • Mac App of the Year - Pixelmator Pro
  • Mac Game of the Year - The Gardens Between
  • Apple TV App of the Year - Sweat
  • Apple TV Game of the Year - Alto's Odyssey

Apple named Drake as the top artist of the year, while "I Like It" from Cardi B was named the song of the year. Kacey Musgraves' "Golden Hour" album was named album of then year, while Juice WRLD took the breakout artist of the year title.

As for movies, Apple named "Annihilation," "Black Panther," "Crazy Rich Asians," and "Eighth Grade" as some of the best movies of the year, while "The Americans," "Atlanta," "The Good Place," and "The Handmaid's Tale" were named some of the best TV shows.

Apple's full Newsroom article has a complete list of the winners for each of its services, along with top charts and other data that's worth checking out if you're looking for music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, books, and apps you might have missed in 2018.

Popular Stories

apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

Leaker Reveals Amount of RAM in iPhone 17 Through iPhone 17 Pro Max

Wednesday July 9, 2025 8:08 am PDT by
Three out of four iPhone 17 models will feature more RAM than the equivalent iPhone 16 models, according to a new leak that aligns with previous rumors. The all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with 12GB of RAM, according to Fixed Focus Digital, an account with more than two million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive These Five Perks

Wednesday July 9, 2025 9:20 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, did you know that Apple offers you five perks beyond the extra storage space, at no additional cost? Here are the perks included with all iCloud+ plans:Private Relay keeps your Safari browsing history entirely private from network providers, websites, and even Apple. Hide My Email generates unique, random email addresses whenever needed. Hom...

Top Rated Comments

deeddawg Avatar
86 months ago
Procreate Pocket sounds like a fertility tracking app.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KPandian1 Avatar
86 months ago
The "Good Place" is a very deep show, well portrayed by seemingly shallow characters. The one NBC show worth its time.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lunarworks Avatar
86 months ago
The "Good Place" is a very deep show, well portrayed by seemingly shallow characters. The one NBC show worth its time.
My wife and I started watching The Good Place on Netflix last month, after seeing a few GIFs of it (I know), and now we're almost caught up with the current season.

I can't say enough good things about it. Such a fresh concept, compared to all the standard sitcoms out there.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MakeAppleAwesomeAgain Avatar
86 months ago
Ladies and gentleman, iPad app of the year:


Froggipedia, an engaging, interactive, powerful constructive learning Apple AR which helps explore and discover the unique life cycle and intricate anatomical details of a frog.
What’s a computer?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
R10k Avatar
86 months ago
Pixelmator Pro isn’t worthy of much attention...

But Annihilation is an amazing movie.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
charleswhalley Avatar
86 months ago
Bit of a snooze fest on the Mac this year, then?

Pixelmator Pro is hardly any different to Pixelmator, which itself is an old app now.
Snoozefest - that is an understatement. Looking forward to the highlights of hardware - oh silly me - there aren't any!!!!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)