'iTunes Rewind' Highlights the Best of 2011; Instagram, Tiny Tower Win Best of Year Awards

instagramaoty
Apple has released the 2011 edition of its annual iTunes Rewind feature in the iTunes Store. The piece offers a look at what the company has judged to be the best music, movies, TV shows, apps, books, and podcasts of 2011.

Some of the notable winners:

Apps:
- iPhone App of the Year: Instagram
- iPhone Game of the Year: Tiny Tower
- iPad App of the Year: Snapseed
- iPad Game of the Year: Dead Space for iPad

Music:
- Song of the Year: Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People
- Artist of the Year: Adele
- Album of the Year: Wasting Light by Foo Fighters

Books:
- Best Novel: The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obeht
- Best Nonfiction: Boomerang by Michael Lewis

It's important to note that these awards are all for the United States iTunes Store. In some cases, Apple gave awards to different items in different countries. For example, Djay was awarded iPad App of the Year honors in the UK, while Tiny Wings won iPhone Game of the Year in the UK and Australia.

Instagram isn't the first photography app to win App of the Year award. In 2010, Hipstamatic took home App of the Year honors. Plants vs. Zombies won the Game of the Year award that year.

MacRumors covered iTunes Rewind in 2010 and 2009, as well.

Popular Stories

Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Apple Is Expected to Launch These Four MacBooks in 2026

Friday January 9, 2026 8:17 am PST by
2026 could be a bumper year for Apple's Mac lineup, with the company expected to announce as many as four separate MacBook launches. Rumors suggest Apple will court both ends of the consumer spectrum, with more affordable options for students and feature-rich premium lines for users that seek the highest specifications from a laptop. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. ...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

10 Reasons to Wait for This Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday January 8, 2026 2:56 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Apple Confirms Google Gemini Will Power Next-Generation Siri This Year

Monday January 12, 2026 7:38 am PST by
In a statement shared with CNBC today, Apple confirmed that Google Gemini will power the next-generation version of Siri that is slated to launch later this year. "After careful evaluation, we determined that Google's technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and we're excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for our users," the statement...
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Elon Musk Reacts to Apple and Google Teaming on Gemini-Powered Siri

Monday January 12, 2026 11:38 am PST by
Elon Musk today expressed concern about Apple and Google partnering on a more personalized version of Siri powered by Google's generative AI platform Gemini. "This seems like an unreasonable concentration of power for Google, given that [they] also have Android and Chrome," wrote Musk, in a post on X. Musk serves as CEO of xAI, the company behind Gemini competitor Grok. It is unlikely...
iOS 26

Here's What's New in iOS 26.3 So Far

Monday January 12, 2026 1:15 pm PST by
Apple today seeded the second beta of iOS 26.3, nearly a month after the first beta. So far, the update includes a couple of new features for iPhones. iOS 15.3 through iOS 18.3 were all released in late January over the years, so it is thereby likely that iOS 26.3 will be released towards the end of this month as well. The update is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. Below,...
proposed unicode emoji 18%402x

Squinting Face, Pickle, and Lighthouse Among New Emoji Coming to iOS

Friday January 9, 2026 4:24 am PST by
The Unicode Consortium has published a draft list of emoji that could come to smartphones and other devices in the future. The list shared by Emojipedia outlines 19 emoji candidates under consideration for Emoji 18.0, which is expected to be finalized in September 2026. Among the proposed additions are a squinting face emoji, left- and right-pointing thumb gestures, a pickle, a lighthouse, a ...
Apple Intelligence iPhone 16

Google Gemini Partnership With Apple Will Go Beyond Siri Revamp

Monday January 12, 2026 8:48 am PST by
Apple and Google today announced that Google Gemini will help power not only a more personalized version of Siri, but a range of future Apple Intelligence features. "Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google's Gemini models and cloud technology," the companies said, in a statement. "These...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Monday January 12, 2026 8:19 am PST by
iOS 26.3 will likely be released to the public later this month, but it appears that Apple is preparing to push out another software update in the interim. Apple's software engineers have started testing iOS 26.2.1, according to the MacRumors visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The update will likely be released at some point this week or next week. ...

Top Rated Comments

Mr. Gates Avatar
184 months ago
What the Heck !?!??




What's with the PEDO BEAR on the left photo ???

LOL
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Xian Zhu Xuande Avatar
184 months ago
I guess this means I should check out these apps then?
Keep away from Tiny Tower. Cute, but a soul sucker.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gorbok Avatar
184 months ago
...there are covers of this song that are so much better

Comments like this make me sad.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cvaldes Avatar
184 months ago
I can see a list of "best apps"... but Music? Seriously? Never heard of any of those on the list except for Foo Fighters (and that's only because I am familiar with the band name.)
Are you over thirty?

Both Adele and Foster the People are 2012 Grammy nominees. Their works have been near the top of the Billboard charts. Adele actually won the Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance awards in 2009.

P.S., I am over forty.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bensalama21 Avatar
184 months ago
I can see a list of "best apps"... but Music? Seriously? Never heard of any of those on the list except for Foo Fighters (and that's only because I am familiar with the band name.)

If you just turned on your radio for 2 seconds, I guarantee it would be playing either Pumped Up Kicks or Adele.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
StuddedLeather Avatar
184 months ago
I can see a list of "best apps"... but Music? Seriously? Never heard of any of those on the list except for Foo Fighters (and that's only because I am familiar with the band name.)
Seriously? You've never heard of Adele, at least 'Rolling In The Deep'? Especially when Apple used her song for the "Watch The iPhone 4S video." It's a great song, but I digressed.

Instagram really deserves Best App (which it did receive). I'm seriously addicted to it and picture taking with the 4S are incredible to say the least.

As far as gaming apps goes, I'm addicted (currently) to Temple Run. I need suggestions for more games though! Good quality games.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)