Every year, Apple hosts the Apple Design Awards, selecting Apps from the Apple App Store and then Awarding the best in design. The Awards feature different categories from Inclusivity to Innovation, each filled with stellar examples of what you can find on the app store.
The winners are announced at WWDC, and before this year's presentation Apple has announced which apps are up for an award.
The apps
There are six apps per category, and six categories overall making for a total of thirty six apps. Apple says that "t he Apple Design Awards honor excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design." Here's a breakdown.
Inclusivity
This category, Apple says, is all about creating a "great experience for all by supporting people from a diversity of backgrounds, abilities, and languages."
- Anne
Anne is for deafblind people, translating sounds and written words into a series of vibrations, powered by international morse code. - Universe Website Builder
Universe allows you to "choose a domain and get set up in minutes" on iPad, iPhone, or Mac. Build websites without code, with VoiceOver and haptic touch built in. - Passenger Assitant
Assists with travel on iPhone, allowing for planning and simplifying of journeys. - Stitch.
A Shukaku puzzle game with accessibility built in, allowing everyone to play. - Ancient Board Game Collection
Play board games from thousands of years ago, supported by VoiceOver and Voice Control. - Finding Hannah
Follow the story of Hannah as she learns more about the women in her life and discovers herself.
Delight and Fun
This section is all about learning and playing games, which Apple says "provide memorable, engaging, and satisfying experiences that are enhanced by Apple technologies."
- Duolingo
Learn a language on the go and build that streak as you learn day by day. - CREME
Read recipes from and learn to cook from some of the best chefs in the world, cooking along with their videos. - Chantlings
Sing along with creatures of the forest, and make music with your fingers. - Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On
Play solitaire to get your horse to the finish line of the race – designed by the Pokemon people. - Knotwords
"A minimal and elegant logic puzzle – with words" - AfterPlace
An open-world, top-down game with gorgeous pixel graphics. Editors' choice in the app store.
Interaction
Apple says that finalists in this category "deliver intuitive interfaces and effortless controls that are perfectly tailored to their platform."
- Shuffles by Pinterest
Build collages with pictures on your iPhone, powered by Pinterest - Tide Guide: Charts and Tables
Read and see what the tides are doing and when, and see when the sunrise will be over the sea. "The Marine Weather app" - Flighty
Track planes and airlines with maps, updates, and live-streamed data. - Automatoys
Get the ball out of the maze with a 3D ball puzzle. - Railbound
Solve fun, railway-based puzzles on your best iPhone or iPad. - Kimono Cats
Create a cat, and take a cat friend through a Japanese Matsuri festival – make sure to keep your companion happy though!
Social Impact
These are apps that "improve lives in a meaningful way and shine a light on crucial issues."
- Duolingo
Learn a language on the go and build that streak as you learn day by day. - Sago Mini First Words
Teaches kids to talk from a young age with fun characters and activities. - Headspace
Find more peace and calm through meditation and guided relaxation. - Hindsight
Follow a woman's life from birth til death, as "she tries to make sense of it all." - Endling
Help the cubs of the last fox alive on earth in this game about the environment. - Beecarbonize
Defeat climate change in this card-based strategy game.
Visuals and Graphics
Only the most visually stunning pieces here. These apps "feature stunning imagery, skillfully drawn interfaces, and high-quality animations that lend to a distinctive and cohesive theme."
- Any Distance
Stay active with others and track your workouts. - Gentler Streak Health Fitness
The fitness app that puts your well-being first – track daily workouts and keep yourself within healthy activity levels. - Riveo
Add effects to your video simply and easily, supporting green screens. - Diablo Immortal
Customize your warrior and take the fight to Diablo in the mobile version of the hit RPG. - Resident Evil Village
The Mac port of the most recent Resident Evil entry, with support now for Apple Silicon. - Endling
Help the cubs of the last fox alive on earth in this game about the environment.
Innovation
This section is for apps that "provide a state-of-the-art experience through novel use of Apple technologies that set them apart in their genre."
- Swing Vision
An AI tennis app that provides scoring and & Stats using footage from a camera, and more. - Camo Studio
Use templates to get the best video possible on Mac, for apps like Zoom, Meet, and more. - Rise: Energy & Sleep Tracker
Improve your sleep and get more energy through the day with insights on your nightly habits. - Resident Evil Village
The Mac port of the most recent Resident Evil entry, with support now for Apple Silicon. - Stitch.
A Shukaku puzzle game with accessibility built in, allowing everyone to play. - Marvel Snap
A fast-paced puzzle and card collecting game featuring characters from the Marvel Universe.
The entrants
Those are the finalists for the awards, the results of which we'll see at the WWDC 2023 show, coming on June 5. There'll be more at Apple Park as well, including announcements for new kit like the Apple VR headset, a new MacBook Air 15-inch, and more information about iOS 17.
