Apple Picks the 2021 App Store Award Winners, Highlighting the Best Apps of the Year

by

Apple today shared its 2021 App Store Award winners, highlighting the 15 best apps and games selected by Apple's global App Store editorial team. The top apps were chosen for their quality, innovative technology, creative design, and positive cultural impact.

app store awards 2021

"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 Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "From self-taught indie coders to inspiring leaders building global businesses, these standout developers innovated with Apple technology, with many helping to foster the profound sense of togetherness we needed this year."

Toca Life World, from Toca Boca, was named Apple's iPhone App of the Year. Designed for children, the app allows players to create their own worlds and bring their stories to life.

Apple's iPad App of the Year is LumaFusion, a popular mobile video editing app. It is recognized as one of the best ways to edit video on an iPhone or an iPad, with a wide range of editing tools and effects.

Multiplayer online battle arena game League of Legends: Wild Rift won the title of iPhone Game of the Year for its online play, and MARVEL Future Revolution was Apple's pick for iPad Game of the Year.

Apple picked a Mac app and game of the year, an Apple TV app of the year, and an Apple Arcade game of the year, with details below.

  • Mac App of the Year: Craft Docs and Notes Editor, from Luki Labs Limited.
  • Mac Game of the Year: Myst, from Cyan.
  • Apple TV App of the Year: DAZN Sports Streaming, from DAZN Group.

  • Apple TV Game of the Year: Space Marshals 3, from Pixelbite.
  • Apple Watch App of the Year: Carrot Weather, from Grailr.
  • Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Fantasian, from Mistwalker.

Apple also highlighted "Connection" as the trend of the year, recognizing a selection of apps and games that brought people together in meaningful ways. Apps acknowledged in this category include Among Us!, Bumble, Canva, EatOkra, and Peanut.

Each App or Game of the Year winner will receive a physical App Store award that's modeled after the design of the App Store logo. Each award is created from 100 percent recycled aluminum and it has the name of the winner engraved on the side.

Tag: App Store

Popular Stories

apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
Read Full Article • 18 comments
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
Read Full Article • 136 comments
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Read Full Article • 19 comments
New Intel Logo

Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips Again in a New Way

Friday November 28, 2025 7:33 am PST by
While all Macs are now powered by Apple's custom-designed chips, a new rumor claims that Apple may rekindle its partnership with Intel, albeit in a new and limited way. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Intel is expected to begin shipping Apple's lowest-end M-series chip as early as mid-2027. Kuo said Apple plans to utilize Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest...
Read Full Article • 61 comments
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
Read Full Article • 124 comments
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...
Read Full Article • 219 comments
streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
Read Full Article • 27 comments
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...
Read Full Article • 31 comments

Top Rated Comments

ethanwa79 Avatar
ethanwa79
52 months ago
Myst, an update of a 30 year old Mac game that I remember playing when I was 14 when it was NEW, is the 2021 Mac Game of the Year?

That just goes to show the sad sad state of affairs of gaming on the Mac still to this day. ?
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
TheYayAreaLiving ?️
52 months ago

The results are based on the opinions of Apple's global App Store editorial team. I bet if the results were based on app users opinions the results would be totally different.
It's probably all chosen by how much $ they generated for Apple.

Money talks.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
laptech Avatar
laptech
52 months ago
The results are based on the opinions of Apple's global App Store editorial team. I bet if the results were based on app users opinions the results would be totally different.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
incoherent_1 Avatar
incoherent_1
52 months ago

Myst, an update of a 30 year old Mac game that I remember playing when I was 14 when it was NEW, is the 2021 Mac Game of the Year?

That just goes to show the sad sad state of affairs of gaming on the Mac still to this day. ?
Don’t worry. Next year we may be lucky enough to get a port of the original Wolfenstein :D
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
radamo Avatar
radamo
52 months ago

Myst, an update of a 30 year old Mac game that I remember playing when I was 14 when it was NEW, is the 2021 Mac Game of the Year?

That just goes to show the sad sad state of affairs of gaming on the Mac still to this day. ?
The fact that it still gets them $30 (after so many years) in revenue per sale makes it GOTY!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yabeweb Avatar
yabeweb
52 months ago

Myst, an update of a 30 year old Mac game that I remember playing when I was 14 when it was NEW, is the 2021 Mac Game of the Year?

That just goes to show the sad sad state of affairs of gaming on the Mac still to this day. ?
Lots of people did not get to play Myst when it was released, many people were not even born when it was released.

I remember playing it in a very OLD Mac, the graphic was amazing for the times (well sure they were almost pictures...)

The point is, the fact that it is still a great game (new visuals of course) means KUDOS to the developer, they

Not a sad state, but a timeless game.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments