This is straight from the horse’s mouth: these are the best apps everyone should have on their smartphones. Apple has released its annual best of list which looks at both the most popular and subjectively best products in the Australian App Store and iTunes when it comes to apps, music, movies, books, and TV shows.
The best app of the year, as judged by the App Store editors, is Prisma which takes ordinary smartphone photographs and gives them the look of a work of art using a range of filters inspired by distinct art styles, from Aviator to Urban.
Two Australian-made apps have been singled out by the App Store editors in the Best of awards, with the two fitness apps Zova and Sweat with Kayla receiving recognition.
Sweat with Kayla was named the Apple Watch App of the Year and Zova, which received one of the coveted Apple Design Awards at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, made it to the top 10.
Niall McCarthy, the co-creator of Zova, said the reaction to the Australian-made app had been fantastic. “It’s incredibly gratifying to wake up each day knowing that we’ve helped people all over the world live a healthier life. It motivates us to keep doing what we do,” he said.
“It’s humbling to receive all this attention. We’re part of a great crop of Aussie app developers, so we’re excited for what’s going to come next year — for us and app development in Australia.”
Clash Royale was named best game of the year on iPhone while Severed was best game of the year on iPad. The Twitter app for Apple TV, which was demonstrated at Apple’s iPhone 7 launch in September, was named the best Apple TV app of the year.
BEST OF THE YEAR
- iPhone App of the Year: Prisma
- iPhone Game of the Year: Clash Royale
- iPad App of the Year: Heuristic Shakespeare — The Tempest
- iPad Game of the Year: Severed
- Apple Watch App of the Year: Sweat with Kayla
- Apple TV App of the Year: Twitter
- Apple TV Game of the Year: Riptide GP
Best Apps of the Year
1. Prisma
2. Quartz
3. Bear
4. MSQRD
5. Folioscope
6. Meditation Studio
7. Hyper
8. Tinycards
9. Zova
10. Timeglass Countdown Timer & Interval Timers
Best Games of the Year
1. Clash Royale
2. Reigns
3. Plants vs. Zombies Heroes
4. twofold inc.
5. Riptide GP: Renegade
6. Rodeo Stampede
7. “klocki”
8. Steppy Pants
9. The Trail
10. FIFA Mobile Football
While the list ranks the best apps and games of the year, it also shows how people voted with their app purchases.
Pokémon Go, which sparked a social revolution in addictive augmented reality gaming this year, is both the number one free app of the year by downloads and the top grossing app of the year, with its maker Niantic Labs reportedly making an estimated $800 million through in-app purchases.
The list of top apps reveals we are all addicted to taking selfies and having fun with photos, with Face Swap Live the most popular paid app and Facetune, which “beautifies” your selfies, in the top five.
Most of the top grossing apps were games but some notable exceptions in the top ten grossing apps are the dating app Tinder and the streaming music service Spotify.
TOP SELLERS
Top Free
1. Pokémon GO
2. Messenger
3. Snapchat
4. Facebook
5. Instagram
6. YouTube
7. Uber
8. WhatsApp
9. Spotify Music
10. Google Maps
Top Paid
1. Face Swap Live
2. KIMOJI
3. 7 Minute Workout Challenge
4. Facetune
5. TripView
6. Heads Up!
7. The Wonder Weeks
8. Minecraft: Pocket Edition
9. WikiCamps Australia
10. Enlight
Top Grossing
1. Pokémon GO
2. Heart of Vegas Free Slots Casino
3. Spotify Music
4. Game of War: Fire Age
5. Slotomania Slots Casino
6. Clash of Clans
7. Candy Crush Saga
8. Mobile Strike
9. Tinder
10. Clash Royale
BEST SONGS, BOOKS & MUSIC
Lukas Graham’s song 7 Years is the top song of the year on Apple Music and iTunes while Drake’s album Views was number one ahead of Adele’s 25 and Justin Bieber’s Purpose.
Taika Waititi’s quirky New Zealand film Hunt of the Wilderpeople, which was recently named by Empire magazine as its pick for the year, was named as the Best Comedy of the Year while the very adult and very funny Deadpool was the best Action Adventure of the year.
Game of Thrones, which as long claimed the title of most pirated TV show, also can claim to be the Best Drama while in books Jimmy Barnes’s Working Class Boy was recognised as the Best Australian Story.
Movies
Best Comedy — Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Best Drama — Sing Street
Best Action-Adventure — Deadpool
Best Kids & Family — Zootopia
Books
Best Debut — The Dry, Jane Harper
Best Australian Story — Working Class Boy, Jimmy Barnes
Best Literature — The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
Best Romance — First Star I See Tonight, Susan Elizabeth Phillips
TV Shows
Best Drama — Game of Thrones s6
Best Miniseries — The Night Of
Best Nonfiction — OJ: Made in America
Best Adaptation — The Night Manager
Online Source: News.com.au.
