Apple recently announced the winners of the 2025 App Store Awards where 17 apps and games were recognised for their technical ingenuity and lasting cultural impact. This year saw the talented group of winning developers deliver remarkable experiences that help to keep users, like you and me, creative, productive and empowered.
The 17 winners were hand-selected from a list of 45 finalists by App Store editors, across a range of categories that can be used within the Apple ecosystem, or for individual Apple devices. Here’s a look at what some of these apps and games are.
Be My Eyes
A useful and dedicated tool to help people who are blind or have low vision, Be My Eyes is an innovative app that connects them to 7 million volunteers through their smartphone to get visual descriptions when they need it.
With the tool, those who require assistance can get help with using home appliances, reading product labels, read product expiration dates and cooking instructions, navigate TV or game menus, sort libraries, and match outfits.
The app has also recently integrated a pioneering AI assistant, Be My AI, which can help answer questions about the images that are sent in and provide conversational AI generated visual descriptions for a wide variety of tasks.
Explore POV
Only available for Apple Vision Pro, Explore POV takes you on breathtaking journeys across the globe with an ultimate immersive video experience featuring stunning 180-degree 3D videos that were made using Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive camera.
These experiences include the crystal-clear lagoons in French Polynesia, Arctic paradises under the midnight sun, Alpine meadows surrounded by snowy peaks, and cascading waterfalls in lush canyons.
Strava
Those who often fitness track on their Apple Watch might be familiar with Strava, a fitness tracking app that houses your entire active journey in one spot.
This means that you can record everything (runs, rides, hikes, yoga and over 30 other sport types), find popular routes based on your preferences, get data insights on your progress and how you can improve, share real-time location while outdoors with your loved ones for an extra layer of safety, and tap on Athlete Intelligence to turn your workout data into instant insights.
StoryGraph
If you’re a reader, StoryGraph is what you’ll need to keep track of the books you’ve been reading.
With this app, you can easily track and learn about your reading habits using the app’s wide range of charts and graphs, as well as see how your reading develops over time. It even has a machine learning AI that lets you get smart personalised book recommendations where it can understand your reading preferences and find the best books for you.
Book tracking and discovery has also been made easier with the custom tags where you can search and filter books by your own tags and share curated lists with friends.
Pokémon TCG Pocket
Experience the thrill of collecting cards, with the ability to open two booster packs every day at no cost! In Pokémon TCG Pocket, you can collect different kinds of Pokémon cards, including new immersive cards with illustrations that have a “3D feel”.
You can even trade with your friends, enjoy quick and exciting battles with your cards, and display your cards with binders or display boards to showcase your collection to players around the world.
DREDGE
Be the captain of your own fishing trawler and explore a collection of remote isles, and their surrounding depths to see what lies below. In DREDGE, you can sell your catch to the locals and complete quests to learn more about each area’s troubled past.
You can also outfit your boat with better equipment so as to trawl deep-sea trenches and navigate to far-off lands, as well as research special equipment to upgrade your boat’s capabilities.
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate
Set in Night City, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is an open-world, action-adventure RPG that lets you become a cyberpunk mercenary to take on the most powerful forces of the city in a fight for glory and survival.
In this game, you will be able to meet memorable characters voiced by Hollywood actors Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba, build your own weapons arsenal, and take on deep and exciting contracts, side quests, and open-world activities to uncover memorable stories, twists, and choices that will affect the world around you.
