Apple handpicked these 45 apps and games for App Store Awards 2025 finalists

Apple has shared the list of 45 finalists for its 2025 App Store Awards, selected by its Global App Store editors across different categories for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, and other devices. It's an annual ceremony that recognizes the best apps and games on the App Store.

Here are the names of the app finalists across different categories:

• iPhone App of the Year: BandLab, LADDER, Tiimo
• iPad App of the Year: Detail, Graintouch, Structured
• Mac App of the Year: Acorn, Essayist, Under My Roof
• Apple Vision Pro App of the Year: Camo Studio, D-Day: The Camera Soldier, Explore POV
• Apple Watch App of the Year: GO Club, Pro Camera by Moment, Strava
• Apple TV App of the Year: HBO Max, PBS KIDS Video, Super Farming Boy 4K

Here are the names of the game finalists across different categories:

• iPhone Game of the Year: Capybara Go!, Pokémon TCG Pocket, Thronefall
• iPad Game of the Year: DREDGE, Infinity Nikki, Prince of Persia Lost Crown
• Mac Game of the Year: Assassin's Creed Shadows, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, Neva
• Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE, PGA Tour Pro Golf, WHAT THE CLASH?
• Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year: Fishing Haven, Gears & Goo, Porta Nubi

Apart from that, there are several apps and games selected under the Culture Impact category: Art of Fauna, A Space for the Unbound, Be My Eyes, Chants of Sennaar, despelote, Focus Friend, Is This Seat Taken?, Retro, StoryGraph, Venba, Whoscall, and Yuka.

Apple has dropped the list just a day after Google announced the winners of its annual Google Play Awards 2025. It's interesting to note that several apps and games reached the top of the ladder on both platforms, including Focus Friend, Pokémon TCG Pocket, and Chants of Sennaar.

The Cupertino giant said that it will announce the winners for its 2025 App Store Awards in the coming weeks.

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Posted Thursday 20 November 2025 at 11:52 am AEST (my time).

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