Apple announces winners of the App Store Awards for 2022 • TechCrunch

Apple today announced the App Store Award winners for 2011. It also revealed the top charts for free and paid apps and games. These awards include apps for all of the company’s platforms including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV. The app of the Year award for iPhone 2022 went to BeReal, a social network app, while GoodNotes 5, a notetaking app, won the title for the best iPad app.

Synium Software GmbH’s MacFamilyTree 10 — a visual family tree exploration app —was noted as the top Mac of the year; TelevisaUnivision Interactive’s Vix streaming service was awarded the top Apple TV app for elevating Spanish-language stories; and Gentler Stories’ Gentler Streak, an exercise and fitness tracker, was awarded the best Apple Watch app of the year.

Credits for the image: Apple

Electronic Arts’ Apex Legends Mobile snagged the top iPhone game award while X.D. Network Inc.’s Moncage got the top iPad game title. Other gaming winners include Inscryption from Devolver for Mac, El Hijo from HandyGames for Apple TV, and “Wylde Flowers” from Studio Drydock for Apple Arcade. Shenzhen Tencent Tianyou Technology’s League of Legends Esports Manager won the China app of the year.

BeReal was a social media hit, causing giants such as TikTok to copy the format. In 2020, the app was first launched by the France-based company. Its format of receiving an alert at random times in the day to post photos combining front- and back cameras within two minute became very popular this year. It’s a stark departure that a social app won the best crown app this year as compared to the last two years’ top apps “Toca Life World” (a Kids’ app) and “WakeOut!” (a workout app). In its blog post for awards, Apple described BeReal as an app to provide”an authentic look into the lives of their family and friends.”

Image credit: Apple

“This year’s App Store Award winners reimagined our experiences with apps that delivered fresh, thoughtful, and genuine perspectives,” CEO Tim Cook said in a statement, “From self-taught solo creators to international teams spanning the globe, these entrepreneurs are making a meaningful impact, and represent the ways in which apps and games influence our communities and lives.”

Last year, Apple had a bonus section called “Apps that brought us together.” So this year, it has introduced a “Cultural Impact” section to honor some apps that had a “lasting impact on people’s lives and influenced culture.” The list includes How We Feel Project’s How We Feel app for logging in daily emotion-based check-ins; Rise-Home Stories Project’s Home Stories Project to highlight stories of systemic housing injustices and their impact on people of color; Locket Labs’ Locket Widget to allow live photo sharing between friends and family through a home screen widget; Vitalii Mogylevets’s hydration tracking app Waterllama; and ARTE Experience’s Inua – A Story in Ice and Time to explore historical events from Inuit tradition.

Image Credits Apple

The 2022 App Store was a difficult year with a lot of regulatory and revenue battles. It had to allow developers to use third-party systems for in-app purchases in regions including South Korea and the Netherlands (just for dating apps). The EU and the U.S. are also exploring ways to regulate app distribution monopolies across different apps stores. These regulations could force Apple into loosening some rules regarding app distribution and payment on the App Store.

In March, Apple allowed “reader apps” — apps that give users access to digital content like music, books, and videos — to include external links for users to create and manage their accounts. The company eased some restrictions on binary content within the app using HTML5, lottery and donation-related apps in June. It also restricted the use of NFT functionality in apps. In October, developers were prohibited from using digital collectibles for unlocking new features. Plus, it also mandated that any NFTs purchase system must you Apple’s in-app purchase mechanism, and give a commission to the company. It updated its guidelines to state that it will take a cut when buying social media boosts within the app.

Apple also revealed the top-rated apps and games in both paid and free categories for the 2011 year. These are the top apps available in the US