With WWDC right around the corner, Apple has revealed the winners of the annual Apple Design Awards. The Awards are given to an app and game from a pool of 36 finalists in the following categories:
- Delight and Fun
- Inclusivity
- Innovation
- Interaction
- Social Impact
- Visuals and Graphics
The pool of finalists was especially strong this year, but just one app and game is chosen for each category, and here’s what Apple picked:
Delight and Fun
App: grug
Developer: Ocho (Netherlands)grug is a playful way to discover and embrace daily wisdom. The affirmation app provides a delightful way to read daily neolithic grunts. With just a simple idea, each prompt is thoughtfully delivered to offer users a small but meaningful moment of reflection.
Game: Is This Seat Taken?
Developer: Poti Poti Studio (Spain)Is This Seat Taken? is a fun way to experience and solve tricky logic puzzles. The cartoon-style game provides entertaining scenarios, helping players navigate the quirkiness of public transit. Playful interactive elements within the game create a sense of charm to support users in enjoying an unhurried ride, one seat at a time.
Inclusivity
App: Guitar Wiz
Developer: Bijoy Thangaraj (India)Guitar Wiz is an impactful app for new and experienced guitarists, an all-in-one toolkit that provides spoken instructions on everything from pitch to finger placement. It supports all musicians by taking advantage of Apple technologies, including Dynamic Type, Increased Contrast, and Differentiate Without Color.
Game: Pine Hearts
Developer: Hyper Luminal Games Limited (United Kingdom)By rewarding good deeds in a wholesome world, Pine Hearts is a moving game for players of all abilities. The beautifully conceived experience makes use of accessibility settings, including enhanced text legibility, customizable controls, and adjusted motion and sensory feedback.
Innovation
App: NBA: Live Games & Scores
Developer: NBA Media Ventures, LLC (United States)The NBA app for Apple Vision Pro offers fans an immersive viewing experience with the ability to watch up to five live games at once, follow real-time player and game stats with floating leaderboards, and see player movements on a 3D court with tabletop mode. Users can also enjoy games in Spatial Audio and experience the future of sports broadcasting with Spectrum Front Row, featuring the Lakers in Apple Immersive.
Game: Blue Prince
Developer: Dogubomb (United States)Blue Prince is a genre-defying adventure that delivers a deep narrative experience using a unique mix of exploration, puzzle-solving, and noncombat elements. The room-by-room structure is effortlessly engaging, with support for environmental storytelling found in hanging pictures and hand-scribbled notes. The game offers extraordinary depth, secrets, and an entire second game’s worth of story to bring the mysterious world to life.
Interaction
App: Moonlitt: Moon Phase Tracker
Developer: Flipping Hues Srls (Italy)With broad platform support, Moonlitt: Moon Phase Tracker provides an elegant interface for tracking celestial events, planning photography, and exploring all things lunar. With its easy onboarding and best-in-class Liquid Glass integration, the app lets users keep their eyes on the skies in a simple and intuitive way.
Game: Sago Mini Jinja’s Garden
Developer: Sago Mini (Canada)In Sago Mini Jinja’s Garden, young people can plant seeds, harvest vegetables, and cook meals using an intuitive interface. Available on Apple Arcade, the game provides effortless swipe-to-move controls, letting kids keep their focus on exploring the joyful garden rather than reading instructions.
Social Imact
App: Primary: News in Depth
Developer: Wood Metal Rocks LLC (United States)Primary shines a spatial spotlight on the news. Powered by a global team of experienced editors, its spatial interface, designed for Apple Vision Pro, is smartly organized and seamlessly integrated to help users thoughtfully engage with news.
Game: Consume Me
Developer: Jenny Jiao Hsia and AP Thomson (United States)A deeply personal and autobiographic experience of a sensitive and emotionally moving topic, Consume Me balances gameplay with profound care. Its clever mechanics help users thoughtfully connect with feelings words can’t always capture.
Visuals and Graphics
App: Tide Guide: Charts & Tables
Developer: Condor Digital (United States)Tide Guide is a top-tier tide tracker that offers hour-by-hour forecasts and a crisp presentation of weather data that anyone can easily understand. The app’s full-screen charts are filled with custom animations, and the Liquid Glass integration, aquatic theme, and sky-matching palette create a polished and practical experience.
Game: Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition
Developer: CD Projekt S.A. (Poland)Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is a visually ambitious open-world game that takes full advantage of Apple silicon on Mac and advanced Metal features. Its intricate interiors, character art, and vehicle designs feel technically demanding and genuinely lived-in.
Congratulations to all of this year’s Apple Design Award winners and finalists.
