App Store Awards 2024: 17 winners and a hint with the fence post
The selection of the winners of this year's Apple App Store Awards also carries a political message, analyzes Malte Kirchner.
If Wout van Halderen had the choice between a trophy and a good customer rating, he would prefer the satisfied rating: Because that says that an app is really good, he emphasizes. Nevertheless, the Communications Director of the UK company Playstack, who stepped in front of the webcam for an interview with the camera-shy developer, naturally does not turn down this year's App Store Award from Apple for Balatro+. And one thing is almost certainly dependent on the other: Without satisfied users, there would probably be no trophy from Apple either.
Apple awards the best apps twice a year: In the summer, at the WWDC developer conference, the Apple Design Award is traditionally presented, a prize that tends to admire the beauty of programming and the use of new programming tools that Apple provides . The App Store Award in December, on the other hand, is the annual award – an editorial decision by Apple as to which of the apps already highlighted by the App Store editorial team during the year stand out the most.
Daily art as a business model
The poker card game app Balatro+, which van Halderen markets as Head of Communications, received the coveted blue block in the App Store logo design this year. Apple awarded a total of 17 prizes, divided into apps and games and distributed across the various hardware categories that Apple has on offer. A total of 45 apps and games were nominated. Awards were also presented for apps that Apple considers to have a particular cultural influence.
One such influential app is DailyArt from Poland. According to art historian Zuzanna Stanska, she now employs a team of seven people who conjure up a work of art and its story on the displays of loyal fans every day. The app is also a popular companion on city trips. The app has 800,000 users worldwide, is available in 23 languages, with active support from the community, and serves several Apple platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. The whole thing is financed by subscriptions. Now, after twelve years in the App Store and many successes, it has also won an award.
Award for Halide developers
Sebastiaan de With and Ben Sandofsky didn't have to wait that long with their iPhone app Kino. Only a few months were enough for the video camera app to win an App Store Award. Nevertheless, they are old hands: the photo app Halide is widely known and Kino is the offshoot for videography, so to speak. "For filmmaking, not for filmmakers" – for filmmaking, not for filmmakers –, as de With says in an interview with heise online. The idea of turning color grading into an instant photo function and offering cinema look on an automatic basis has apparently not only caught on with users, but also with Apple - even though Apple launched its own professional camera app called Final Cut Camera just this year.
Of course, the App Store Awards are ultimately primarily an Apple marketing campaign –. The selection criteria are not transparent and no attempt is even made to appoint an independent jury. Nevertheless, this year in particular, which was characterized by skirmishes with the EU Commission over the regulation of the App Store, there is more to it than just advertising. The selection of award winners is also a nod to the fact that Apple sees its App Store as a place of pluralism. A place where apps that contradict Apple's own ideas and views can also win.
An app selection with symbolic power
Software giant Adobe, for example, won one of the trophies for its Lightroom software, even though Apple has just acquired a competitor, Photomator, and is probably pursuing its own plans that could lead in a similar direction. On top of this, Lightroom's use of artificial intelligence was highlighted, when Apple is currently still so limited in its own image-generating AI and has been criticized for this. At the same time, however, apps such as Kino, whose developers reject AI altogether, are also on the winners' podium: So there is no existential crisis as to what a real photo or video is, says Sebastian de With, alluding to the discussions. It could also be seen as a slight dig at Apple, as the AI image eraser has just been introduced in iOS 18.1 and dilutes the concept of authenticity of photos taken to a certain extent.
Compared to the legal wrangling with the EU, the App Store Award appears to be a more elegant and cleverer way for Apple to present itself in a more positive light. As every year, the award-winning developers undoubtedly gain further attention, which in turn benefits the iPhone manufacturer through more app and subscription commissions. But this time, Apple itself is also gaining from this colorful collection of developers and the contradictions with its own products. These could help to counteract the accusation often heard recently from political circles that the US company allegedly subordinates everything to its own interests.
This year's award winners:
Apps
- iPhone app of the year: Kino from Lux Optics Inc.
- iPad App of the Year: Moises from Moises Systems Inc.
- Mac App of the Year: Adobe Lightroom by Adobe Inc.
- Apple Vision Pro App of the Year: What If...? An Immersive Story by Disney.
- Apple Watch App of the Year: Lumy by Raja V.
- Apple TV App of the Year: F1 TV by Formula One Digital Media Limited.
Games
- iPhone Game of the Year: AFK Journey by Farlight Games.
- iPad Game of the Year: Squad Busters by Supercell.
- Mac Game of the Year: Thank Goodness You're Here! by Panic, Inc.
- Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year: THRASHER: Arcade Odyssey by Puddle, LLC.
- Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Balatro+ by Playstack Ltd.
Cultural Impact Award:
- Oko by AYES BV: Navigation app for blind and visually impaired people
- EF Hello by Signum International AG: AI-supported language learning app
- DailyArt:DailyArt by Zuzanna Stanska: Daily artworks and their history
- NYT Games by The New York Times Company: Puzzles and games from the New York Times
- The Wreck by The Pixel Hunt: A 3D narrative about a challenging phase of life
- Do You Really Want to Know? 2 by Gamtropy: About living with HIV, combined with educational materials
(mki)
