Apple has announced the winners and finalists of its 2025 Design Awards for apps, days before the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference 2025 (WWDC). This year’s selections predominantly feature indie apps and startups, a notable contrast to the broader tech trend, as generative AI apps are conspicuously absent from the list for the second consecutive year.
While generative AI apps were not among the winners or finalists, Apple did highlight some applications incorporating AI features. These included Speechify, which won in the Inclusivity category, and the music creation and editing app Moises. Both are venture-backed startups.
Apple’s focus for the awards remains on developers’ innovative use of its tools to create enhanced user experiences. The company recognized 12 winners, with one app and one game selected in each of the six categories: Delight and Fun, Innovation, Interaction, Inclusivity, Social Impact, and Visuals and Graphics. The list of finalists also showcased a significant number of apps and games developed by small teams from around the world.
In the Social Impact category, Watch Duty, an app that provided crucial information during the California wildfires, received an award. Play, a developer prototyping tool backed by M13, was recognized as the best app in the Innovation category.
The full list of winners across the six categories is as follows:
Delight and Fun: Capwords and Balatro
Inclusivity: Speechify and Art of Fauna
Innovation: Play and PBJ – The Musical
Interaction: Taobao and DREDGE
Social Impact: Watch Duty: Wildfire Maps and Neva
Visuals and Graphics: Feather: Draw in 3D and Infinity Nikki
The awards underscore Apple’s commitment to recognizing excellence in app design and development across its ecosystem, with a particular emphasis on independent creators and impactful applications.
