Apple Design Awards 2025: These Are the Best Apps and Games of the Year

Every year, Apple takes a moment to highlight apps and games that stand out. The Apple Design Awards are not about big brand names or flashy marketing. They're about ideas that are thoughtful, well-executed, and often quite personal.

In 2025, Apple picked 12 winners from around the world. These apps and games fall into six categories: Delight and Fun, Innovation, Interaction, Inclusivity, Social Impact, and Visuals and Graphics. Each category had one app and one game as the winner.

Some of these are made by large teams. Others come from solo developers. What they have in common is that they offer something useful, creative, or just plain enjoyable.

Let's go through what stood out this year.

APPS

Delight and Fun Winner: CapWords (China)

CapWords makes language learning feel like play. You take a picture of any object around you - like a cup or a shoe - and the app shows you the word for it in different languages. It turns the real world into a flashcard deck. There's nothing flashy here, but it's creative and surprisingly effective. It makes learning feel less like study and more like curiosity.

Innovation Winner: Play (USA)

Play is a tool for designers and developers that helps build SwiftUI prototypes directly on an iPhone or Mac. It removes a lot of the back-and-forth between idea and execution. For people working on apps, it's a practical way to move faster without cutting corners. The interface is simple and clean, which makes it easier to focus on the work.

Interaction Winner: Taobao on Vision Pro (China)

Taobao's Vision Pro experience shows what shopping in 3D could actually look like. You can place products in space, rotate them, and compare items side-by-side. The interaction design takes full advantage of spatial computing, but it still feels easy to use. It's an early look at how extended reality could quietly blend into everyday tasks.

Inclusivity Winner: Speechify (USA)

Speechify reads out text in more than 50 languages. Whether you're reading a website, PDF, or scanned document, it turns the written word into audio. The app is especially helpful for people with dyslexia or ADHD, but it's also great for anyone who learns better by listening. It supports features like VoiceOver and Dynamic Type, and the interface is built to feel calm and clear.

Social Impact Winner: Watch Duty (USA)

Watch Duty is an app built by volunteers that helps track wildfires. It gives real-time updates on fire location, wind conditions, and evacuation info. It's used by people living in fire-prone areas - and when fires broke out in California earlier this year, the app became a lifeline. It's not fancy, but it does one thing very well, and that's what makes it valuable.

Visuals and Graphics Winner: Feather (South Korea)

Feather is an iPad app that turns 2D sketches into 3D models. It's designed for creative work, but without the steep learning curve that most 3D modeling tools come with. You can use your finger or Apple Pencil to shape objects in space. It's clean, minimalist, and gives just enough features to help you create something without overwhelming you.

GAMES

Delight and Fun Winner: Balatro (Canada)

Balatro is a card game that blends poker with roguelike elements and a touch of chaos. You build decks, use joker cards for special effects, and try to chase high scores. It was developed by a single creator, which makes its clever design and replay value even more impressive. It's one of those games that surprises you with how deep it gets the more you play.

Innovation Winner: PBJ - The Musical (Germany)

PBJ is a rhythm-based storytelling game about a peanut butter jar and a jelly bottle. Yes, really. It's a playful take on Romeo and Juliet, full of hand-drawn art and original music. The gameplay is simple but rich in personality. You move through scenes with singing, dancing, and plenty of sandwich puns. It's strange, but also kind of brilliant.

Interaction Winner: DREDGE (New Zealand)

DREDGE is a slow-burn horror game where you sail through eerie waters, catch strange fish, and uncover hidden stories. The game is easy to control whether you're using touch or a controller, and that simplicity lets the mood do the heavy lifting. It plays smoothly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and it's proof that a calm game can still feel intense.

Inclusivity Winner: Art of Fauna (Austria)

Art of Fauna is a wildlife-themed puzzle game that supports VoiceOver, color themes for different visual needs, and phobia filters to block out unwanted images. The game is inspired by old scientific illustrations and uses both pictures and descriptions to build puzzles. It feels gentle, slow, and inclusive by design - not just in the settings, but in the whole experience.

Social Impact Winner: Neva (USA)

Neva is a story about a girl and her wolf, traveling through a dying world. It doesn't say too much outright but shows everything through seasons, color shifts, and soft music. The game explores environmental loss and emotional connection without being dramatic. It's quiet and beautiful, with a message that stays with you.

Visuals and Graphics Winner: Infinity Nikki (Singapore)

Infinity Nikki is an open-world game where you collect outfits and explore magical environments. The focus is not on combat or missions but on beauty and discovery. Everything from the lighting to the animations is designed with care. It's not loud or aggressive, just immersive and pleasant to be in. It shows that strong visuals don't need to be overwhelming.

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