App Store Best of List

Apple has announced its Best of 2017 for the App Store. This year the winners for the best app and game were announced alongside the Trends of the Year. App Store editors identified "four breakout trends" in app culture such as AR (augmented reality), real-time multiplayer games, mental health and reading.

Apple introduced its ARKit for developers in iOS 11. The new technology allows iPhone and iPad owners to use their devices to interact with virtual objects digitally rendered over the real world. Developers have already created hundreds of apps and games making AR the top trend of 2017, according to Apple.

The end of the year has arrived, and as usual Apple has released the top iPhone apps of 2014. Three categories include the most downloaded free apps, top paid apps, and the highest grossing apps of the past 12 months. Top billing in the free app list goes to Facebook Messenger, which separated messaging functionality from the main Facebook app. Both YouTube and Google Maps, which used to come pre-installed in earlier versions of iOS, also made the top 10 free apps.

The game Heads Up! beat out Minecraft - Pocket Edition for the top slot in paid apps. Cut the Rope 2 followed up on its predecessor with a showing in the top 10 as well. Finally, the top grossing category was lead by Clash of Clans. Like Clash of Clans, other popular titles such as Candy Crush Saga and Farm Heroes Saga are free, but made the top grossing list thanks to in-app purchases. Here are the top 10 iPhone apps in each category:

Apple revealed today that King.com Limited's Candy Crush Saga was the most downloaded free app of the year for both the iPhone and iPad. The game was also the top grossing iPhone game in 2013, proving once again that in-app purchases fuel the App Store. Minecraft - Pocket Edition took the top paid app honors for both the iPhone and iPad.

As always, Apple also announced its picks for the best iPhone and iPad apps and games of the year. The language-learning app Duolingo was chosen as the best iPhone App of the Year, and Ridiculous Fishing: A Tale of Redemption earned Apple's pick as iPhone Game of the Year. Disney Animated and Frogland’s Badland took the respective honors for the iPad.

Apple has released the App Store Best of 2012 list, which includes this year's Editor's Picks for best app and game, and the most downloaded free and paid apps of the year. The Editor's pick for App of the Year is Action Movie FX, with the $0.99 music app Figure nabbing the runner-up slot, and Rayman Jungle Run was voted the best Game of the Year.

Rovio Entertainment once again topped the paid charts with Angry Birds Space, and YouTube was the most downloaded free app (I wonder why?). Paper was announced as the iPad App of the Year, and The Room was chosen as the iPad Game of the Year by Apple. Read on for the complete App Store Best of 2012 results.