The App Store Awards honor standout apps and games at the end of each year. Google has also released a review of the most popular apps on their platform. (Source: Apple image)

Google, Apple Offer Rankings of Best 2022 Apps & Games Based on User Downloads

With less than a month left in the year 2022, engadget.com has covered which apps were rated highest by two of the big app providers, namely Google and Apple. With the thousands of variations of apps and games available, it might be difficult to pick the best ones. But it’s clear which ones the public prefers.

Web behemoth Google has announced the Google Play Best of 2022 awards, and this year’s biggest winners reflect cultural trends. The best Android app of the year is Wombo’s Dream, an AI art generator. The user’s choice winner, meanwhile, is the social media phenomenon BeReal.

Respawn swept the top game awards. Apex Legends Mobile won both Google’s nod as well as the user’s choice pick. Todoist is Google’s favorite app for Wear OS smartwatches, while Pocket’s reading tool is the top tablet-friendly app. The best software for good was The Stigma App, a community platform for discussing mental health.

As with Apple, Google’s year-end list reflects popular downloads. Apple’s Best of 2022 section on the Play Store “is effectively a one-stop shop for Android and Chromebook newcomers looking to expand their app libraries. However, it does give a feel for the cultural pulse of a mobile world where AI, the metaverse, and online gaming dominate.”

Apple’s List

While Google and Apple may have a few of the same names on their lists of best apps in 2022 there are differences as well. Both lists reflect user sales.

This year the big Apple winner is hands down Be Real. BeReal is a French social media app released in 2020. It was developed by Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau. After a couple of years of relative obscurity, it rapidly gained popularity in early and mid-2022.

If you are not familiar with how Be Real works, it is a photo-sharing app. BeReal users can share a selfie of themselves with a photo of their environment during a two-minute window that the app randomly selects for them every day. A reverse engineer found an experimental feature that’s identical to that within Instagram back in August, while TikTok unveiled its take on the format in September. Pretty cool to keep the family caught up on your day.

“Other big winners on the Apple list include GoodNotes 5, which was named the iPad App of the Year for taking digital notes “to the next level with best-in-class Apple Pencil support.” Users can treat their iPads like any book or notebook with the app, since it allows them to jot down notes on the margin and highlight important text, among other things.”

MacFamilyTree 10 won Mac App of the year for its ability to create virtually stunning family trees and give users the ability to collaborate with relatives around the world.

For games, Apex Legends Mobile bested all the other titles for the iPhone, while puzzle game Moncage and card battler Inscryption won best games for the iPad and the Mac, respectively. The Wild West stealth game El Hijo won best game for Apple TV for looking exceptional on a big screen. Wylde Flowers, a life sim that combines farming with magic, was named the best Apple Arcade game. Finally, esports simulator League of Legends Esports Manager won the first China Game of the Year award.

No matter which smartphone you have, these apps listed above might help you decide on Christmas gifts for your digital-loving friends and family on your gift-giving lists.

read more at engadget.com