Apple today announced its 2022 App Store Award winners, highlighting the 16 best apps and games selected by Apple's global App Store editorial team.
The top apps were chosen by Apple for their quality, innovative technology, creative design, positive cultural impact, and ability to deliver "exceptional experiences." Apple CEO Tim Cook said:
This year's App Store Award winners reimagined our experiences with apps that delivered fresh, thoughtful, and genuine perspectives. From self-taught solo creators to international teams spanning the globe, these entrepreneurs are making a meaningful impact, and represent the ways in which apps and games influence our communities and lives.
Apps
- iPhone App of the Year: BeReal, from BeReal.
- iPad App of the Year: GoodNotes 5, from Time Base Technology Limited.
- Mac App of the Year: MacFamilyTree 10, from Synium Software GmbH.
- Apple TV App of the Year: ViX, from TelevisaUnivision Interactive, Inc.
- Apple Watch App of the Year: Gentler Streak, from Gentler Stories LLC.
Games
- iPhone Game of the Year: Apex Legends Mobile, from Electronic Arts.
- iPad Game of the Year: Moncage, from X.D. Network Inc.
- Mac Game of the Year: Inscryption, from Devolver.
- Apple TV Game of the Year: El Hijo, from HandyGames.
- Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Wylde Flowers, from Studio Drydock Pty Ltd.
- China Game of the Year: League of Legends Esports Manager, from Shenzhen Tencent Tianyou Technology Ltd.
Apple also highlighted five "Cultural Impact Winners," which it says "have made a lasting impact on people's lives and influenced culture." The winning apps in this category are as follows:
- How We Feel, from the How We Feel Project, Inc.
- Dot's Home, from the Rise-Home Stories Project
- Locket Widget, from Locket Labs, Inc.
- Waterllama, from Vitalii Mogylevets
- Inua - A Story in Ice and Time, from ARTE Experience
"This year's winners encourage users to engage more deeply with their emotions, authentically connect with others, and pay homage to their heritage and the generations that came before them while envisioning how to create a better world today," according to Apple.
Each App or Game of the Year winner will receive a physical App Store award that's modeled after the design of the App Store logo. Each award is created from 100 percent recycled aluminum and it has the name of the winner engraved on the side.