Apple has recognized 17 developers in its annual App Store Awards, celebrating apps for their technical ingenuity and cultural impact, with the winners including productivity app Focus Friend and Lovecraftian fishing game Dredge.
At the end of November, Apple announced the finalists for the 2025 App Store Awards, its annual celebration of the best software from the year. On December 4, Apple announced who won the awards in their various categories.
A total of 17 games are awarded, with six App of the Year winners alongside five Game of the Year awards. Another six are selected by App Store editors as Cultural Impact winners for driving meaningful change, with inclusivity and a positive impact.
The App of the Year list includes visual planner tool Tiimo as the iPhone winner, with Detail for iPad, and Essayist on Mac. Explore POV from James Hustler won for the Apple Vision Pro.
Under games, Pokemon TCG Pocket won on iPhone, with Dredge and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition doing so on iPad and Mac respectively.
The Cultural Impact winners included the wildlife illustration puzzler Art of Fauna, while Focus Friend gamified focus sessions with awards for being productive. StoryGraph helps users discover books and elevate diverse authors, and Be My Eyes provides an AI-powered view of the world for the visually impaired.
"Every year, we're inspired by the ways developers turn their best ideas into innovative experiences that enrich people's lives," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. "This year's winners represent the creativity and excellence that define the App Store, and they demonstrate the meaningful impact that world-class apps and games have on people everywhere."
The full list of winners follows:
Apps
- iPhone App of the Year: Detail, from Detail Technologies B.V.
- Mac App of the Year: Essayist, from Essayist Software Inc.
- Apple Vision Pro App of the Year: Explore POV, from James Hustler.
- Apple Watch App of the Year: Strava, from Strava, Inc.
- Apple TV App of the Year: HBO Max, from WarnerMedia Global Digital Services, LLC.
Games
- iPhone Game of the Year: Pokemon TCG Pocket, from The Pokemon Company.
- iPad Game of the Year: Dredge, from Black Salt Games.
- Mac Game of the Year: Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, from CD Projekt S.A.
- Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year: Porta Nubi, from Michael Temper.
- Apple Arcade Game of the Year: What The Clash?, from Triband ApS.
Cultural Impact Winners
- Art of Fauna from Klemens Strasser.
- Chants of Sennaar from Playdigious.
- despelote from Panic, Inc.
- Be My Eyes from Be My Eyes.
- Focus Friend by Hank Green from B-Tech Consulting Group LLC.
- StoryGraph from The StoryGraph.
