Apple announced the winners of this year’s App Store Awards, naming 15 apps that “helped users tap into personal passions, discover creative outlets, connect with new people and experiences, and simply have fun”. One of the apps includes “League of Legends: Wild Rift” as iPhone Game of the Year.
“The developers who won App Store Awards in 2021 harnessed their own drive and vision to deliver the best apps and games of the year—sparking the creativity and passion of millions of users around the world,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.
iPhone App of the Year
Toca Life World
I’ve never actually heard about this app, but it seems like it would be such a fun app for kids. It’s described as an app that lets players “create their own world and play out any story” they want—which sounds a bit like Roblox.
I downloaded the app to try it out because its description still sounded a bit vague. You can create cute little avatars, and you get access to several different towns—but I don’t particularly understand what I could do with the app. There are a lot of places that you can explore, and there are things you can build, like your own house. I also heard that there are little games you can play but I couldn’t find them at first glance, so maybe I would need to do a little more exploring before I find it.
However, I do get the appeal of this if I was a kid. It’s cute and it has a lot of things for you to do—and it’s free to play. You can download Toca Life World on the App Store.
iPad App of the Year
LumaFusion
LumaFusion is described as a “powerful multitrack video editor used by mobile journalists, filmmakers, and professional video producers”. It also claims that it’s great for editing videos on the iPad or iPhone—but since the iPad has a much bigger screen, it’s probably more satisfying to use on the iPad.
The app isn’t free, though. It costs USD 29.99 (RM126.75), but you’ll get most of what they offer on that one-time purchase. This includes all the editing features, effects, media library, and free customer support from “experts”. However, you can additionally purchase a subscription to access a full library of music and clips, as well as being able to export to Final Cut Pro for further editing on the desktop. You can download the app in the App Store.
Mac App of the Year
Craft
Craft definitely sounds like an app that I would be into. It is described as “a tool for creating beautiful documents and notes and sharing your thoughts”. A reviewer described Craft as a place where they can keep a daily log of journal reflections, tasks, phone calls, meetings, while also giving them the space to focus on projects, brainstorm, keep and plan long-term tasks. You can download the app for iPhone, iPad and Mac through the App Store.
iPhone Game of the Year
League of Legends: Wild Rift
Arcane is pretty hot right now on Netflix, and it joins Wild Rift as something under the League of Legends universe. The app is the mobile version of the popular multiplayer online battle arena game, and it’s free to play.
I’m not all that familiar with MOBA games, but I have played a couple of rounds of Pokemon Unite—a similar type of game. But since the Pokemon one didn’t win the best game this year, it might be safe to say that Wild Rift knocks it out of the park… or is more popular. You can download League of Legends: Wild Rift on the App Store.
Trend of the Year: Connection
This year, Apple also named several apps that helped with “Connection”—something we might have needed during the social distancing period of the pandemic. The popular multiplayer game Among Us was given a shout-out under this category, due to “cultivating the community through bite-size matches that urged users to talk—and listen—to each other via banter, bluffing, and teamwork”.
Dating site Bumble, graphic design platform Canva, American Black-owned eatery guide EatOkra, and social audio app Peanut also fell under the same list. There are also other apps that won “best of the year”—including DAZN for Apple TV App of the Year, Carrot Weather for Apple Watch App of the Year, Marvel Future Revolution for iPad Game of the Year, Myst for Mac Game of the Year, Space Marshals 3 for Apple TV Game of the Year, and Fantasian for Apple Arcade Game of the Year.
Last year, Apple is awarded physical ‘trophies’ to the winners for the first time. This year, they announced that the “signature blue App Store icon” trophies will also be awarded to the winners, with the name of the winner engraved.
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