Kate Mills 
Nov 30, 2023
Both Apple and Google today announced their best apps and games of the year, with the hiking and biking companion AllTrails winning as Apple’s iPhone App of the Year in 2023, while the educational app Imprint: Learn Visually won as Google Play’s best app.
Meanwhile, Apple and Google mutually agreed on their Game of the Year, picking Honkai: Star Rail as the winner.
Apps picked by Apple for the iPhone app of the year include well-designed apps like Duolingo, a language learning app; Flighty, a travel app; and AllTrails, the winner.
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“It’s inspiring to see the ways developers continue to build incredible apps and games that are redefining the world around us,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a statement about the 2023 winners, TechCrunch reported.
He added, “This year’s winners represent the limitless potential of developers to bring their visions to life, creating apps and games with remarkable ingenuity, exceptional quality, and purpose-driven missions.”
Both Apple and Google didn’t choose an AI app as its app of the year despite the incredible success of ChatGPT’s when it became the fastest-growing consumer application in history earlier this year by reaching 100 million users soon after its launch.
However, that record was later broken by Instagram Threads, which hit 100 million users within just five days.
Any of these choices would be a big success for a mobile app, but this year, other app stores chose different ones as the best. Apart from ChatGPT, many other AI apps are also minting millions too, so Apple's decision to not include the AI category seems a deliberately taken step.
Other App Store winners include iPad App of the Year Prêt-à-Makeup, Mac App of the Year Photomator, Apple TV App of the Year MUBI, Apple Watch App of the Year SmartGym, iPhone Game of the Year Honkai: Star Rail, iPad Game of the Year Lost in Play, Mac Game of the Year Lies of P, and Apple Arcade Game of the Year Hello Kitty Island Adventure.
Google allows people to vote for their favourite apps, and ChatGPT won the User's Choice App of the Year award. However, The User's Choice Game of the Year was Monopoly Go!
