What you need to know
- Apple's most exclusive product ever is the physical award for the Best Apps of 2020.
- The award is made from the same aluminum as the company's products.
- Tim Cook virtually met with developers to congratulate them personally.
Reported by Digital Trends, Apple has designed a physical award to honor the Best Apps of 2020 and, according to the company, it is the most exclusive product Apple has ever created.
The award takes the shape of a real-world App Store icon and is built out of the same aluminum alloy found in the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. The object is limited to a run of 15 units for the developers it honors as well as a handful for Apple itself.
Phil Schiller, Apple Fellow and head of the App Store, says that it is the first time that the company has ever created a physical award for being part of the Best Apps of the App Store.
"We are excited to present the first-ever physical App Store Best of 2020 Award to these winning developers — it's a beautiful object that recognizes their incredible work and our deepest appreciation."
The award comes packaged in a custom box and, while the front shows off the iconic App Store logo, the back displays a laurel wreath made out of tiny logos.
Like any Apple product, it came in a custom box, surrounded by a separate sleeve, with handmade paper wrapping (all recyclable, of course) ... One side carries the A of the App Store, which the design team felt would be iconic and instantly recognizable. The other side of the trophy (something unseen by any outside of the design team and the trophy winners themselves) carries a laurel wreath of the sort a marathon runner might win. It was created from the outline of the App Store icon, rotated and replicated three times.
According to the report, all trophies were delivered in unison to the winners across the globe before meeting with Tim Cook virtually.
Attention to detail is the Apple way. That's why the company delivered trophies to the winners at the same time Monday morning, right before a special meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook himself. Coordinating deliveries from Guatemala City to Poland to Shanghai isn't easy; doing it all at the same time is near impossible.
Schiller says that this year's awards have been especially meaningful as many people rely on the apps that some of these developers have made.
"We are thrilled with the Best of 2020 winners — these 15 outstanding apps and games from visionary innovators represent so much great work by developers on the App Store ... It is particularly meaningful to honor these winners this year as apps have become even more integral to our daily lives and helped so many of us."
Check out the full story over at Digital Trends.
