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Apple Reveals App Store's Best Apps, Games of 2020, Announces Podcasts, Books of the Year

Apple Reveals App Store's Best Apps, Games of 2020, Announces Podcasts, Books of the Year

Apple has also revealed the most downloaded apps and games from the App Store during the year.

By Jagmeet Singh | Updated: 2 December 2020 15:05 IST

Apple Reveals App Store's Best Apps, Games of 2020, Announces Podcasts, Books of the Year

Apple has featured 15 apps and games as the “Best of 2020” on the App Store

Highlights

Home workout app Wakeout! won the iPhone App of the Year title
Amazon and Aarogya Setu amongst the top free apps in India
Apple named Code Sw!tch as the Show of the Year on Apple Podcasts

Apple on Wednesday released the list of App Store's best apps and games of 2020. Continuing its annual trend, the Cupertino company named 15 apps and games that its App Store editors have found to be the best — on the basis of quality, design, usability, and the technology they use. The “Best of 2020” winners include home workout app Wakeout!, action role-playing game Genshin Impact, and video conferencing app Zoom, among others. Apple also separately announced the list of the most popular books and audiobooks on Apple Books and the shows of the year 2020 on Apple Podcasts.

Best App Store apps of 2020

From an independent developer Andres Canella, Wakeout! emerged as the iPhone App of the Year, while Zoom won the iPad App of the Year. Calendar and reminders app for Mac, Fantastical by Flexibits debuted as the Mac App of the Year. Similarly, video streaming app Disney+/ Disney+ Hotstar that has tons of originals for kids and young audiences won the Apple TV of the Year. Sound environment app Endel received the title of Apple Watch App of the Year.

Best App Store games of 2020

In terms of gaming, Apple called the Genshin Impact from miHoYo as the iPhone Game of the Year and strategy card game Legends of Runeterra from Riot Games as the iPad Game of the Year. Role playing game Disco Elysium from ZA/UM received the title of Mac Game of the Year. Further, metroidvania game Dandara Trials of Fear from Raw Fury became the Apple TV Game of the Year. Apple also gave adventure game Sneaky Sasquatch from RAC7 the title of Apple Arcade Game of the Year.

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Alongside following its regular trend of calling out the best apps and games of 2020, Apple listed a few apps that it considered among the “app trends” of the year. These include self-care app Shine, kids video call solution Caribu, highly popular mobile game Pokemon Go that received an update to enable an indoor gaming experience, and whiteboard app Explain Everything Whiteboard.

Charitable giving app SharetheMeal also won the App Trend of the Year title by Apple for helping individuals making a difference during these tough times.

Apple has also designed its first-ever physical App Store Best of 2020 award that it will send to the 15 winners. The award features the signature blue App Store icon, along with the name of the winner engraved on the other side. It is created using 100 percent recycled aluminium to reflect the company's environmental-friendly approach.

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Apple has designed a physical award for the winners of Best of 2020

“Around the world, we saw remarkable efforts from so many developers, and these Best of 2020 winners are 15 outstanding examples of that innovation,” said Phil Schiller, Apple Fellow, in a statement. “From helping us stay fit and mindful, to keeping our children's education on track, to helping fight hunger, their impact was meaningful to so many of us.”

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In addition to the Best of 2020 that reflects the selection of its App Store editors, Apple revealed the most downloaded free and paid apps and games of this year. Amazon India – Shop and Pay, AarogyaSetu, Zoom, WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, and Google were amongst the top free apps in India. The top paid apps listed by Apple in India on the App Store include Sticker Babai, DSLR Camera, Forest – Stay focused, Voice Recorder – Audio Record, AutoSleep Track Sleep on Watch, Spectre Camera, and Procreate Pocket, among others.

Top 10 free iPhone apps in India

Amazon India – Shop and Pay
AarogyaSetu
Zoom
WhatsApp Messenger
YouTube
Instagram
Google Pay
Facebook
MX Player
Messenger

Top 10 paid iPhone apps in India

Sticker Babai: Telugu Stickers
DSLR Camera
Forest – Stay focused
Voice Recorder – Audio Record
AutoSleep Track Sleep on Watch
Spectre Camera
Procreate Pocket
TouchRetouch
Vehicle Registration Info

On the part of top free games on the App Store in India, Ludo King led the charts, followed by Call of Duty: Mobile, Among Us!, Garena Free Fire: BOOYAH Day, Subway Surfers, Save The Girl!, and Asphalt 9: Legends. Top paid games in the country were Monopoly, Hitman Sniper, Minecraft, Plague Inc., RFS – Real Flight Simulator, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, among others.

Top 10 free iPhone games in India

Ludo King
Call of Duty: Mobile
Among Us!
Garena Free Fire: BOOYAH Day
Subway Surfers
Save the Girl!
Asphalt 9: Legends
Brain Out
My Talking Tom Friends
Magic Tiles 3: Piano Game

Top 10 paid iPhone games in India

Monopoly
Hitman Sniper
Minecraft
Plague Inc.
RFS – Real Flight Simulator
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Heads Up! Best Charades game
Assassin's Creed Identity
Getting Over It

In the US, the top free apps include apps like Zoom, TikTok, Disney+, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, while top paid apps included TouchRetouch, Procreate Pocket, Facetune, HotSchedules, AutoSleep Track Sleep on Watch, The Wonder Weeks, and SkyView. The list of the most-downloaded free apps in the US included Among Us!, Call of Duty: Mobile, Roblox, Subway Surfers, and Ink Inc. However, Minecraft, Plague Inc., Heads Up!, Monopoly, Bloons TD 6 ,and Geometry Dash were amongst the top paid games.

Alongside sharing the list of top apps and games, Apple announced on Twitter that NPR's Code Sw!tch became the Show of the Year on Apple Podcasts. The company also revealed the list of best books of the year in the US, as reported by 9to5Mac, that includes The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand, and Long Bright River by Liz Moore. Best audiobooks of the year in the US include Open Book by Jessica Simpson, Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey, and Upstream by Dan Heath. The lists of the most-popular books and audiobooks of 2020 are also out. Apple also revealed the biggest shows and its favourites on Apple Podcast.

Best books of the Year on Apple Books in the US

The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett
28 Summers, Elin Hilderbrand
Long Bright River, Liz Moore
Deep State, Chris Hauty
The Last Flight, Julie Clark
Reborn Yesterday, Tessa Bailey
The Roommate, Rosie Danan
The City We Became, N. K. Jemisin
Piranesi, Susanna Clarke
We Are Not Free, Traci Chee
Silver Arrow, Lev Grossman
The Velvet Rope Economy, Nelson D. Schwartz
Caste, Isabel Wilkerson
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read, Philippa Perry
My Autobiography of Carson McCullers, Jenn Shapland

Best audiobooks of the Year on Apple Books in the US

Open Book, Jessica Simpson
Memorial Drive, Natasha Trethewey
Upstream, Dan Heath
The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett
Interior Chinatown, Charles Yu
Caste, Isabel Wilkerson
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Suzanne Collins
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, Ibram X.Kendi
Fair Warning, Michael Connelly
The Guest List, Lucy Foley
Take a Hint, Dani Brown, Talia Hibbert
Untamed, Glennon Doyle
Think Like a Monk, Jay Shetty
Devolution, Max Brooks
The City We Became, N. K. Jemisin

Biggest shows of the Year on Apple Podcasts in the US

Stuff You Should Know by iHeartRadio
This American Life
The Daily by New York Times
Crime Junkie by audiochuck
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
The Ben Shapiro Show by The Daily Wire
Up First by NPR
Call Her Daddy by Barstool Sports
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Unlocking Us with Brené Brown

Biggest new shows of the Year on Apple Podcasts in the US

Unlocking Us with Brené Brown
Nice White Parents by New York Times & Serial
CounterClock by audiochuck
Red Ball by audiochuck
SmartLess with Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes
Blood Ties by Wondery
Supernatural with Ashley Flowers
Down The Hill: The Delphi Murders by WarnerMedia
Park Predators by audiochuck
Coronavirus: Fact vs Fiction with Dr. Sanjay Gupta by CNN

Apple's favourite podcasts of the year on Apple Podcasts in the US

California Love by LAist and KPCC
Canary by The Washington Post
Dying for Sex by Wondery
FANTI by Maximum Fun
Floodlines by The Atlantic
Ghost Tape by QCODE
How to Citizen with Baratunde Thurston by iHeartRadio
In The Bubble with Andy Slavitt by Lemonada Media
Louder Than a Riot by NPR
Nice White Parents by New York Times
Rabbit Hole by New York Times
You're Wrong About with Michael Hobbes & Sarah Marshall

Earlier this week, Google announced the best Android apps and games of 2020 in India. The search giant also announced the winners of the Users' Choice Awards 2020 that went to cricket game World Cricket Championship 3 – WCC3.

iPhone 12 Pro Series Is Amazing, but Why Is It So Expensive in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

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