Apple has made it a custom to recognize the best performing apps in its iTunes store since 2009. The time has come for the Cupertino giant to make its 2014 choice public. Among the best of the best we can find several innovative and original concepts, from news apps to photo editors, from educational titles to grocery lists. Uber, Facebook’s Paper and So, without further ado, here are the winners:
App of the Year
- Winner: Elevate, a brain-training app
- Runner-Up: Hyperlapse from Instagram
Game of the Year
- Winner: Threes!
- Runner-up: Leo’s Fortune
Best apps:
- Yahoo News Digest
- Storehouse
- SwiftKey Keyboard
- 1Password
- Camera+
- Toca Lab
- NYT Now
- 120 Sports
- Camu
- Spring
- BuzzFeed
- Peak
- Nighty Night Circus
- Yummly
- Waterlogue
- Human
- Stellar
- TeleStory
- Network TV
- Litely
- Uber
- Star Walk
- Cinamatic
- Health Mate
- Paper
Other best-sellers on iTunes:
Music:
- Best Artist: Beyoncé
- Best Album: 1989 by Taylor Swift
- Best Song: Fancy (feat. Charli XCX) by Iggy Azalea
- Best New Artist: Sam Smith
Movies:
- Best Blockbuster: Guardians of the Galaxy
- Best Family Movie: The LEGO Movie
- Best Director: Richard Linklater
- Best Discovery: Obvious Child
TV Shows:
- TV Show of the Year: Fargo
- Best Performances: True Detective, Season 1
- Best Discovery: The Honorable Woman
- Best Breakthrough: Key & Peele, Volume 4
Books:
- Best Fiction: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- Best Nonfiction: The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs
The best performing paid Apple App Store app of the year was HeadsUp!, a game played by Ellen DeGeneres on her talkshow, while the top downloaded free app was the Facebook Messenger. Clash of Clans has gathered the most gross income during this year both on the iPhone and the iPad, while the distinction for the iPad app for the year goes to Minecraft Pocket Edition. The recognition fo the year’s most popular Apple iPad app goes to YouTube.
One of Apple’s intentions with the launch of the large screen iPhone was to grab more of the mobile gaming market. Given the success of the iPhone, this is not too far.