Apple on Thursday announced the App Store Award winners for 2025, recognizing top applications and games, prominently featuring AI integration within selections.
The iPhone app of the year was Tiimo, a visual planner, and iPhone game of the year was Pokémon TCG Pocket. While Apple has not designated a specific AI app as a top winner, AI functionalities were present across various categories.
Tiimo, the iPhone app of the year, utilizes AI to create visual timelines for to-dos. It analyzes tasks to estimate step durations, aiding in realistic schedule creation. The iPad app of the year, Detail, incorporates an “Auto Edit” AI feature for video editing, managing silence removal, zoom cuts, and title/caption additions.
Among the Cultural Impact winners, StoryGraph uses machine learning AI for book recommendations based on user reading data. Another Cultural Impact recipient, Be My Eyes, provides an AI assistant offering visual descriptions of real-world images for blind and low-vision users. Strava, the Apple Watch app of the year, includes an AI assistant that converts workout data into insights.
Additional winners were named for iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, Apple TV, and Apple Arcade. The company also presented Cultural Impact awards to apps fostering helpful tools, promoting understanding, or contributing to a more inclusive world.
Apple initially identified 45 finalists in November, narrowing the list to 17 apps and games. The complete list of winners includes:
- iPhone App of the Year: Tiimo
- iPhone Game of the Year: Pokémon TCG Pocket
- iPad App of the Year: Detail
- iPad Game of the Year: DREDGE
- Mac App of the Year: Essayist
- Mac Game of the Year: Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition
- Apple Arcade Game of the Year: WHAT THE CLASH?
- Apple Vision Pro App of the Year: Explore POV
- Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year: Porta Nubi
- Apple Watch App of the Year: Strava
- Apple TV App of the Year: HBO Max
- Cultural Impact Winners: Chants of Sennaar; Be My Eyes; Focus Friend; Art of Fauna; despelote; and StoryGraph
