Apple Shares the 'Best of 2019' Highlighting Top Apps and Games, Plus First Apple Music Awards

Apple today hosted an event in New York City where the company announced its annual "best of" lists, highlighting the best apps and games of the year, along with sharing details on the musical artist of the year and the top song through the new Apple Music Awards.

Apple Best of 2019 Best Apps Games 120219 big
After sharing details with members of the media, Apple released all of its top picks in a new article available on its Apple Newsroom site.

This year, Apple is recognizing its favorite apps and games for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac, and there's a new Apple Arcade category.

- Apple Arcade Game of the Year - Sayonara Wild Hearts by Simogo (Apple Arcade)
- iPhone App of the Year - Spectre Camera by Lux Optics ($2.99)
- iPhone Game of the Year - Sky: Children of the Light by thatgamecompany (Free)
- iPad App of the Year - Flow by Moleskine (Free)
- iPad Game of the Year - Hyper Light Drifter by Abylight S.L. ($4.99)
- Mac App of the Year - Affinity Publisher by Serif Labs ($49.99)
- Mac Game of the Year - GRIS by Devolver / Nomada Studio ($4.99)
- Apple TV App of the Year - The Explorers by The Explorers Network ($4.99)
- Apple TV Game of the Year - Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap by DotEmu ($7.99)

Apple has also announced the first ever ‌Apple Music‌ Awards, likely meant to be similar to other music awards like the VMAs and and AMAs. Apple has named Billie Eilish its Global Artist of the Year and the Songwriter of the Year along with her brother Finneas. Lizzo is Apple's breakthrough Artist of the Year, and the Song of the Year is "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X. All of the winning artists are receiving a special Apple-designed award.

Apple plans to hold a live awards ceremony at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park Campus on Wednesday, December 4 at 6:30 p.m. The event will include a live performance by Billie Eilish, and it will be live streamed so Apple customers can watch.

Apple Music will celebrate the inaugural Apple Music Awards with a bespoke performance from Billie Eilish at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park. The show will be unlike anything ever seen from this unanimously crowned Artist of the Year. This exclusive event will be streamed live around the world on December 4 at 6:30 p.m. PST.

Apple's full article has a more complete list of details on all of the apps and games that were highlighted, along with more information on the Apple Music Awards.

Popular Stories

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...
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 ...
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...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
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 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.4.1 With Bug Fixes

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.4.1 and iPadOS 18.4.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There have been complaints about ...
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...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4.1 With Bug Fixes

Wednesday April 16, 2025 10:16 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4.1, a minor update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4.1 comes two weeks after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.4. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. According to...

Top Rated Comments

Eric5h5 Avatar
70 months ago

iPhone‌ Game of the Year is “Sky: Children of the Light by thatgamecompany” ?????? I laughed so hard, these are such cherry picked awards. It’s definitely not the most popular game. I call foul.
Why would you think it has anything at all to do with being "the most popular"? Did you somehow skip right over this part: "This year, Apple is recognizing its favorite apps and games"? You may note it does not say "This year, Apple listed the most downloaded apps and games", since that'd be uninteresting. As for "cherry picked"...er, yes, that's kind of the entire point of awards. I suppose you yell at the Oscars if they pick movies that weren't the highest grossing?

--Eric
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tapiture Avatar
70 months ago
Now they’re trying to do awards shows. Apple really wants to be Hollywood all of the sudden.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Peace Avatar
70 months ago
Billie Eilish songwriter of the year ? Of the year ?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME ?

/shakes head...

?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
martyjmclean Avatar
70 months ago
The Affinity apps really are amazing!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mejsric Avatar
70 months ago

Billie Eilish songwriter of the year ? Of the year ?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME ?

/shakes head...

?
lets me guess your age, 50+?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sickoagb Avatar
70 months ago
Billie is really deserving after this massive year she’s had and her musical output
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)