App Store Awards 2025: Apple shortlists top innovative apps and standout game titles

Inspired by ingenuity and digital creativity, Apple has revealed the 45 finalists for the App Store Awards 2025 – a celebration of the best and brightest apps and games for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and more.

The annual awards, spread over 12 categories, recognise the developers who make the apps that “elevate daily life, streamline work and push the envelope of what software can be,” the company said.

Diverse devices, diverse use-cases

Apps and games are today so ubiquitous that they are found in every nook and corner of our digital lives. As the finalists suggest, in this smartphone age, on iPhone, the focus has to sharpen routines: BandLab lets music creators record, mix and collaborate with friends with little effort; LADDER is the strength-training planning app that trainers have been waiting for and Tiimo takes tasks in its stride with an app that helps users stay calm and on-point.

On the iPad, creativity and productivity take the honours: apps like Detail reinvent workflows for content creators, Graintouch is a series of digital art tools that let users create, inspired by printmaking, and Structured transforms busy schedules into tidy timelines.

Apps on Mac often double up as workhorses, and the shortlist highlights purpose-built, powerful software: Acorn (professional-grade photo editing, demystified), Essayist (academic writing just got easier), and Under My Roof (homes and living made simple).

The App Store Awards 2025 is also proving that the Apple Watch is a digital playground too – with apps like GO Club that inspires you to hydrate and move regularly, Moment’s Pro Camera taking photography on the wrist to the next level and Strava bringing the global fitness community together.

As shortlists have demonstrated year on year, apps have become a part of our digital lives – no longer just an add-on, the apps we use are increasingly the reason we turn to our devices. By curating the apps and games that focus on creativity, productivity, personal-wellness, work and play, Apple is also setting the tone for what it wants digital experiences to look like in the future: more seamless, expressive, and more device-agnostic.

The shortlist is also a reminder that for innovation to win, it does not have to be hyper-futuristic. Apps that cater to various aspects of daily life can bring something new to the table too. In a statement, Apple’s Head of App Store Worldwide Carson Oliver said, “We are incredibly proud to shine a spotlight on this diverse and remarkably talented developer community, whose apps and games empower everyone to express creativity, streamline workflows and explore new ways to play.”

What’s next?

While the shortlist is out, winners across the 12 categories will be revealed in the coming weeks, giving an indication of which apps have scaled the highest on the charts. For developers and users, the App Store Awards 2025 will provide a curated window into the future of app innovation.
And so whether you’re looking to build your own masterpiece or hunt for the app that changes your digital life make sure to keep an eye on the winners in this year’s awards – these apps and games may just define our digital future.