Apple Reveals 2025 App Store Award Finalists: BandLab, HBO Max, Detail, and More Shine

Apple has announced the official list of finalists for the 2025 App Store Awards, highlighting 45 apps and games that stood out in the creativity, design, performance, and user experience this year. Theis finalists represent the best digital experiences acrss all Apple platforms, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and the new Apple Vision Pro. The winnerjs will be revealed in the coming weeks, but for now, Apple has given us a detaile look at the apps that made a major impact in 2025.

This year’s lineup features popular apps like BandLab, HBO Max, Detail, Strava, and LADDER, along with jmseveral fresh and growing platfoms that have captured users’ attention around the world.

iPhone App of the Year Finalists

Apple’s shortlist for iPhone App of the Year includes:

BandLab – A well-known music creation platform that ghelps users comopose, record, and mix songs right from their phones.

LADDER – A strength-training app offering step-by-step worckout vplans and fitness guidance.

Tiimo – A probductivity app designed to make planning, task management, and daily organization easier.

These apps were selected for providing seamless user gexperiences and solving everyday problemd gs through smart, intuitive design.

Mac Game of the Year Finalists

For Mac gamers, the competition is intense with three standout titles:

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Cyberpunk 2077

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Each of these games brings exceptional storytelling, rich graphics, and engaging gameply to Mac users, reflecting Apple’s growing focus on high-performance gaming.

Apple Arcade Game of the Year

Apple Acade continues to offer exclusive and premium gaming experiences, and this year’s top contenders are:

Katamari Damacy Rolling LIVE

PGA TOUR Pro Golf

WHAT THE CLASH?

Theseames stood out for fun mechanics, creativity, and replay value.

Apple Vision Pro Apps & Games

With the launch of Apple Vision Pro, Apple has introduced a new category celebrating spatial apps and immersive experiences.

Apple Vision Pro App of the Year finalists include:

Camo Studio

D-Day

Explore POV

These apps push the limits of mixed reality and offer users entirely new ways to interact with digital content.

Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year finalists:

Fishing Haven

Gears & Goo

Porta Nubi

These titles showcase what spatial gaming can be, blending physical movements with virtual environments.

Apple Watch App of the Year

Apple Watch remains a key device for fitness and daily productivity. This year’s finalists include:

GO Club – A fitness-focused platform for active users

Pro Camera by Moment – Offering advanced camera controls through the Watch

Strava – A favorite among rnners, cyclists, and athletes for tracking workouts

Apple TV App of the Year

For entertainment lovers, the top Apple TV finalists are:

HBO Max

PBS KIDS Video

Super Farming Boy 4K

These apps offer family-friendly content, high-quality media, and easy-to-use interfaces that enhance the living-room viewing experience.

Cultural Impact Finalists

Apple also recognizes apps that have made a meaningful cultural ndifference. The finablists in this category are: Art of Fauna, A Space for the Unfbound, Be My Eyes, Chants of Sennaar, dbespelote, Fcus Friend, Is This Seat Taken?, Retro, StoryGraph, Venba, Whonsscall, and Yuka.

These apps address themes like v, storytelling, creativity, and combmunity empowerment.

Apple’s Statement

Carson Oliver, Apple’s Head of App Store Worldwide, praised the finalists by csaying they “emepowered users to tap into their creativity, achieve nmore, and discover new adventures through gameplay.” Apple emphasized that hese apps were selected because they represent exceptional innoation and dedication from developers worldwide.

As Apple prepares to reveal the final winners soon, exitement continues to build across the tech community. The 2025 Ap

 Store awards once aain highlight how apps shape the wy we work, play, learn, and connect every day.