Apple Publishes Best of 2015 App Store Lists for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV

Early this morning, Apple unveiled the 2015 edition of their annual Best of App Store lists – a collection of the best apps and games released on the App Store over the past 12 months. This year, in addition to iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps, Apple has added editorial picks for the newly launched watchOS and tvOS platforms, highlighting the best apps and games released by third-party developers on Apple Watch and Apple TV.

We debated. We argued. Everyone had favorites, but to make this list of 2015’s finest, there could be no doubts. What you see here made the cut—they’re the most visionary, inventive, and irresistible apps and games of the year. After you’ve browsed our selections, don’t miss the titles that topped the charts in 2015.

In this year’s Best of App Store, Apple has picked Periscope, The Robot Factory, Affinity Photo, HBO Now, and Dark Sky as apps of the year on its five developer platforms. On iOS, Apple also features special mentions for most innovative apps (Workflow on the iPhone), best app on the iPad Pro (uMake), and best app on the iPhone 6s (Instagram). On Apple TV and Apple Watch – the most recent additions to the App Store ecosystem – Apple hasn’t picked any runner-ups, but instead they’re simply showcasing the best apps and games. The iOS section includes apps that dominated the top charts as well, with Minecraft, Trivia Crack, Messenger, and Snapchat unsurprisingly in there.

Overall, Apple’s picks offer a good mix of big budget titles and smaller, indie studios such as DeskConnect, Readdle, or The Soulmen. You can find Apple’s complete Best of 2015 on the front page of each App Store today; a recap of all the winners and runner-ups (from the US App Store) is available below.

iPhone

App of the Year

Periscope

Runner-Ups

Enlight

Robinhood

Most Innovative

Workflow

Best App on iPhone 6s

Instagram

Game of the Year

Lara Croft GO

Runner-Ups

Fallout Shelter

Mr Jump

Most Innovative

Dark Echo

Best Game on iPhone 6s

Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade

iPad

App of the Year

The Robot Factory

Runner-Ups

HBO Now

Patterning

Most Innovative

LiquidText

Best App on iPad Pro

uMake

Game of the Year

Prune

Runner-Ups

Rayman Adventures

Implosion

Most Innovative

Her Story

Best Game on iPad Pro

Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey

Apple TV

App of the Year

HBO Now

Game of the Year

Rayman Adventures

Apple Watch

App of the Year

Dark Sky

Game of the Year

Rules!

Mac

App of the Year

Affinity Photo

Game of the Year

Pillars of Eternity

Runner-Ups

PDF Expert

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor