Patrick Holland / CNET
This story is part of Technology for a better world, Stories about the different teams that develop products, apps and services to improve our lives and our society.
Apple has unveiled its App Store Best of 2020 winners, the best apps and games selected by editors each year. This year's selection has one theme: the apps and games that have helped make life easier, healthier and more connected in one year than in recent history.
"This year, more than ever, some of our most creative and connected moments happened in apps," said Apple colleague Phil Schiller. "So many developers around the world have made a remarkable effort, and these Best of 2020 winners are 15 great examples of that innovation. From helping them stay fit and alert, to keeping our children educated, to fighting the Hunger's effects have mattered to so many of us. "
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The iPhone App of the Year, Wakeout !, gives you 30-second bursts of motion and movement tailored for your home, office, car, or local park. Use everything from your pillows to pots and pans to outside benches and your desk to avoid becoming too sedentary as many of us spend more time at home. Search the library with more than 1,000 location-specific movements and filter by mood (stimulating, relaxing, intense or fun) and by length. Wake up! It can be downloaded for free and tried out for a week. After that, you'll need to sign up for $ 5 per month or $ 35 per year. You can add up to five people to your subscription at no additional cost.
Zoom was named Apple's iPad App of the Year, which is not surprising: the video chat platform grew from 10 million daily meeting participants in December to more than 300 million in April and became one of the most popular ways to connect with friends, family and colleagues during the pandemic (Read our tips on using Zoom here).
Apple named Disney Plus the Apple TV app of the year, probably family-friendly in part due to its catalog shows and Movies, the addition of a GroupWatch functionand I have to imagine giving us more Baby yoda With Season 2 of The Mandalorian.
The best games of the year selected by Apple editors - Genshin Impact for iPhone, Legends of Runeterra for iPad, Disco Elysium for Mac, Dandara Trials of Fear for Apple TV and Sneaky Sasquatch to the Apple Arcade - also reflect on topics such as virtual connection, learning and exploring new worlds.
Fantastical, the Mac app of the year, is designed to make your life easier by keeping all of your calendars and notifications in one place. The Apple Watch App of the Year, Endel, is synced with Apple Health to adapt soundscapes to the current state of your body and your immediate surroundings. It uses factors like your heart rate and local weather to give you a soothing sound.
Apple also recognized five apps with the Best of 2020 Award for making a difference in this unusual year.
For grandparents and relatives who can't visit the kids in person in their lifetime, Caribu is an interactive video chat app that lets you read books, play games and virtually paint together to stay connected. Pokemon Go reinvented its popular outdoor gameplay with more at-home experiences, including a July GO virtual festival that saw millions of attendees walk an average of 15 km (more than nine miles) in one weekend.
For students whose classrooms have moved to their home, the Explain Everything digital whiteboard app provided a cloud-based collaboration tool that allows student groups to continue collaborating remotely. The United Nations World Food Program's ShareTheMeal app made it easy for people to make donations to provide food aid in emergencies around the world. To date, more than 87 million meals have been shared. And the Shine daily self-care app has launched a new section devoted to the intersectionality of mental health and black life.
Most downloaded apps of 2020
In addition to the editorial recommendations for the App Store, Apple has also published the most downloaded apps and games for iPhone and iPad, both free and paid.
Zoom was the most downloaded free app for iPhone and iPad. This was followed by TikTok and Disney Plus for iPhone and Disney Plus and YouTube for iPad.
The highest-paying iPhone apps were TouchRetouch, Procreate Pocket, and Dark Sky Weather, while the highest-paying iPad apps were Procreate, GoodNotes, and Notability.
Between us was the most downloaded free game for iPhone and iPad, while Minecraft was the most downloaded paid game for both devices.
Here is the full list of the 10 most downloaded free and paid apps and games for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Arcade:
Top free iPhone apps Top paid iPhone apps Top free iPhone games Top paid iPhone games Top free iPad apps Top paid iPad apps Top free iPad games Top paid iPad games Top Apple Arcade GamesFor more information, see Google Play's list of the best apps and games of 2020.
