AI makes its mark on Apple’s leading apps of the year

Apple Announces Top App Store Picks for 2025

On Thursday, Apple revealed its annual selection of the most outstanding apps and games from the past year, continuing its tradition of spotlighting digital excellence.

For 2025, the visual planning app Tiimo earned the title of best iPhone app, while the card-based game Pokémon TCG Pocket was named iPhone Game of the Year.

Although Apple has yet to select an AI-specific app or chatbot as its top app, artificial intelligence played a significant role among this year’s honorees.

Tiimo, recognized as the iPhone App of the Year, leverages AI to transform to-do lists into actionable plans using visual timelines. The app intelligently estimates the duration of each step, helping users organize their schedules more effectively.

On the iPad, Detail was awarded App of the Year for its innovative “Auto Edit” feature, which uses AI to automate video editing tasks such as removing silences, creating zoom cuts, and adding titles and captions.

Among the Cultural Impact winners, StoryGraph utilizes machine learning to suggest books tailored to users’ reading habits, while Be My Eyes offers an AI-powered assistant that provides visual descriptions of real-world images for individuals who are blind or have low vision.

Strava, which was named Apple Watch App of the Year, features an AI assistant that interprets workout data to deliver personalized insights.

Apple also highlighted winners across other platforms, including iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and its Apple Arcade subscription service.

Additionally, several apps received the “Cultural Impact” award for providing valuable resources, fostering understanding, or contributing to a more inclusive society.

Earlier in November, Apple had shortlisted 45 apps and games as finalists. This list has now been narrowed to 17 winners, which include:

• iPhone App of the Year: Tiimo
• iPhone Game of the Year: Pokémon TCG Pocket
• iPad App of the Year: Detail
• iPad Game of the Year: DREDGE
• Mac App of the Year: Essayist
• Mac Game of the Year: Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition
• Apple Arcade Game of the Year: WHAT THE CLASH?
• Apple Vision Pro App of the Year: Explore POV
• Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year: Porta Nubi
• Apple Watch App of the Year: Strava
• Apple TV App of the Year: HBO Max
• Cultural Impact Winners: Chants of Sennaar (narrative puzzle), Be My Eyes (visual assistance), Focus Friend (distraction blocker), Art of Fauna (relaxing puzzles), despelote (soccer-themed slice of life), and StoryGraph (reading tracker and book recommendations)