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ZDNET Highlights
- Apple unveils the winners of the 2025 App Store Awards.
- The 17 winners span all different categories.
- There were an additional six cultural impact winners.
December is here, which means as the year ends, companies carefully reminisce about the past year with releases like Spotify Wrapped or, in Apple’s case, the 2025 App Store Awards honorees.
The awards are designed to showcase the best apps and games available on the Apple App Store over the past year, with Apple’s App Store editors carefully selecting 17 apps from nearly 2 million apps across a variety of devices. These awards were presented in a variety of categories, including best apps for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad, as well as game and cultural impact winners.
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Although you may recognize some of the apps in your daily routine, there are many lesser-known names or new apps that can provide a lot of value to your life. I had a chance to chat with some of the developers and learn more about some of the winners.
Keep reading below to not only find the full list (and possibly your favorite app), but also learn a little more about some of the winners.
2025 Apple App Store Award Winner
Apps:
- iPhone App of the Year: tiimoFrom Tiimo.
- iPad App of the Year: DescriptionDetel Technologies BV From
- Mac App of the Year: essayistEssayist Software Inc. From
- Apple Vision Pro App of the Year: Explore POVFrom James Hustler.
- Apple Watch App of the Year: StravaStrava, Inc. From
- Apple TV App of the Year: hbo maxFrom WarnerMedia Global Digital Services, LLC.
game:
Cultural Impact Winner:
A closer look at some of the winners
tiimo
The Tiemo app, which won iPhone App of the Year, is an AI-powered productivity and planning tool designed to help people with ADHD and other neurodivergent traits. Specifically, the app is designed to help reduce the cognitive load of planning for users by breaking larger tasks into smaller tasks, using tools like live widgets, visual schedule planners, and even incorporating AI-guided reflections.
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Founders, Helen Lassen Norlem and Melissa Wurtz Azari, shared that they often receive reviews and feedback from users that the app is more than just a planning tool, “changing the way they work, the way they live, the way they grow.”
This app is free to download and has been downloaded over 3 million times worldwide. There is also a Tiimo Pro subscription that gives users access to all features on all platforms.
Description: AI Video Editor
Whether you’re a professional video maker who edits videos every day or someone who is just starting out, you know that editing videos can be a very time-consuming task. The Details app, which won iPad App of the Year, is designed to streamline the process by using AI to automate editing. Users simply have to upload a video to get cuts suitable for TikTok Shorts, Reels, Instagram Stories, and more.
“Most video editors look like they did 30 years ago, with a complex timeline, disconnected steps, and a lot of friction. Video became the defining medium of this decade, but the workflow to record and edit hasn’t really adapted to the powerful combination of computing power and a world-class camera in your pocket, or the speed at which we share video content today,” said founder Paul Wagen.
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Veugen said the process is as easy as setting up your phone, hitting record, and automatically creating an edit. The podcast will have the added bonus of being both long-form and multiple shorter clips with additional transitions, captions and background music. The app is also available for free download, with the Basic plan providing users with most of the features, and an optional Pro plan for additional additional features.
Essayist: Academic Writing App
The Essayist app was named Mac App of the Year. The concept is simple: it is a word processor tailored for academic needs, handling the most difficult and complex tasks associated with essay composition. For example, this makes it easier to add references and insert citations, which can often be a difficult process. It also handles page setup and footnotes.
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“Instead of a word processor with endless functions and tools, most of which are completely irrelevant to academic writing, we remove them all and create something focused and sophisticated, a word processor designed for academic writing.
Unlike other apps, Essayist has a cost. Subscription options are $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year. However, if you want to try it out, the monthly subscription comes with a three-day trial, and the annual subscription comes with a seven-day free trial.
