AI makes its way into Apple’s top apps of the year

Apple on Thursday unveiled its annual list of App Store Award winners, continuing its tradition of recognizing the best apps and games of the past year.

The iPhone app of 2025 winner was the visual planner Tiimo, and the iPhone game of the year was the card game Pokémon TCG Pocket.

While Apple has continued to avoid naming dedicated AI apps or AI chatbots as App of the Year, AI was featured among this year’s winners.

For example, Tiimo, Apple’s app of the year, is described as a visual AI planner that turns to-dos into plans with visual timelines. The app uses AI to break down tasks into realistic schedules by estimating how long each step of a task will take and helping you create a plan.

Meanwhile, this year’s iPad app “Detail” simplifies video editing with “auto-edit” AI features that handle things like removing silence, zoom cuts, and adding titles and captions.

Culture Impact winner StoryGraph uses machine learning AI to recommend books based on reading data, and another, Be My Eyes, provides an AI assistant that provides visual descriptions of real-world images to users who are blind or have low vision.

And this year’s Apple Watch app, Strava, includes an AI assistant that turns workout data into insights.

The company also announced winners for iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and outstanding products within its gaming subscription service Apple Arcade.

Additionally, Apple has given several apps “Cultural Impact Awards.” The company says these apps have provided helpful tools, fostered understanding, and created a more inclusive world.

Apple first shortlisted 45 apps and games for the award in November, but the list has now been narrowed down to 17 apps and games. The winners are: