Apple has announced the winners of its 2025 App Store Awards, highlighting 17 apps and games that stood out for technical achievement, thoughtful design and what the company describes as “lasting cultural impact”. Drawn from a shortlist of 45 finalists, this year’s selections reflect the breadth of work happening across Apple’s platforms, from productivity tools to immersive storytelling to powerful gaming.
The mix this year feels more indicative of how software creators are responding to the moment: Leaning into AI when it’s genuinely useful, refining user experience, and exploring what new hardware can enable.
“Every year, we’re inspired by the ways developers turn their best ideas into innovative experiences that enrich people’s lives,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “This year’s winners represent the creativity and excellence that define the App Store, and they demonstrate the meaningful impact that world-class apps and games have on people everywhere.”
We spoke to three winners of the 2025 App Store Awards.
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition (Mac Game of the Year)
One of the biggest releases this year has been Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on macOS. The AAA title — frequently used to benchmark systems — runs natively on Apple silicon and can deliver a buttery-smooth 120 frames per second on ‘ultra’ settings. It takes full advantage of Apple’s Metal 4, including MetalFX Frame Interpolation.
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition from CD Projekt is the Mac Game of the Year
The open-world action-adventure role-playing game lets players take on the role of V, a cyber-enhanced mercenary determined to make a name for themselves in Night City, a megalopolis obsessed with power, glamour, and body modification.
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition includes the base game — featuring Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand — along with the critically acclaimed spy-thriller expansion Phantom Liberty, starring Idris Elba as Solomon Reed.
“Our company’s mission is to create memorable storylines that inspire gamers around the world. Our industry is growing fast. We’ve seen many games adapted into Hollywood productions because gaming has surpassed the film and music industries in size,” Ola Sondej, senior PR manager at CD Projekt Red, told us over a video call.
The game has been optimised for Apple silicon Mac models, taking full advantage of Apple’s hardware and Metal technologies to deliver smooth gameplay and striking visuals.
“It runs natively on macOS. It was built from scratch for Apple silicon — it’s not a compatibility layer or an afterthought. It’s a native experience and a major milestone. There is MetalFX scaling. MetalFX is basically performance without compromise. Today’s games are visually dynamic, and delivering that fidelity at high frame rates usually means choosing between quality and performance. With MetalFX, that changes — it marries the two,” Artur Kepen, senior release manager at CD Projekt Red, told this newspaper.
He added that the game includes native controller support and full integration with Apple hardware such as the Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse.
“The game serves as a benchmark for graphics technology. It proves that Mac gaming is not just viable, but very capable. I’m excited about what the future of Mac holds. The hardware enables incredible things… the technology is genuinely viable, not just for show. I would like to see more AAA developers jump on the Mac bandwagon because if a game of Cyberpunk’s standard is viable on macOS, others can leverage the same power and technology. It is becoming an extremely mature platform. We have worked closely with Apple and have been in touch with engineers constantly, figuring out things like Metal effect implementation,” said Kepen.
Strava (Apple Watch App of the Year)
Running is a hobby that grows on you. It begins with running a mile, then two and then three. Before you know it, running five miles is no longer a problem. Many Apple Watch users rely on the Strava app to log speed, distance, route and more. The curvy orange miles are unmissable.
“We allow users to lead their most active lives. Strava is the world’s largest community of active people. We have over 180 million users in 185 countries. Our growth is balanced across the world. We are about motivation at scale. This year alone, 14 billion ‘kudos’ were given by users to other users on Strava to celebrate all the milestones they have reached. Our goal is to get every user out and moving. For every two minutes a subscriber spends on the app, they spend an hour getting active in the real world,” Matt Salazar, chief product officer at Strava, told us over a video call.
Social media is often associated with all things artificial, but Strava uses it brilliantly by encouraging users to be truthful, based on biometric data collected by phones and watches.
Salazar said Strava is a platform for everyone. “We support over 50 different sports types. And no matter your ability level, Strava is here to support you. This year, running continues to be the most popular sport, but not to be outdone, walking was number two. We saw cycling, weight training and hiking gather momentum. A lot of users are trying to become multi-sport athletes.”
In terms of audience, the fastest-growing segment on Strava is Gen Z women runners. “This cohort of users chose to record activities with the Apple Watch. Gen Z said wearables were one of their biggest investments in 2025. And a third of Gen Z say they will spend more time on fitness in 2026.”
He also spoke about working with teams at Apple to make the app shine. “We collaborated with Apple on our design, going over multiple options, taking in feedback. The interactive design helps when you are on the move and information can be comprehended at a glance.”
Detail: AI Video Editor (iPad App of the Year)
Shoot. Share. That’s the idea behind Detail: AI Video Editor. The app makes it easier to record video podcasts, presentations, livestreams and reaction videos, all automatically edited and ready within seconds.
“People want to tell their stories, from creators to journalists. But they often hit a stumbling block with videos. Most video editors come with complicated timelines, disconnected steps and a lot of friction. Video has become a defining medium of our decade, yet the workflow of recording and editing hasn’t adapted to the combination of computing power and world-class cameras in your pockets,” Paul Veugen, founder and CEO of Detail Technologies, told us over a call. “We want video recording to feel like a simple expression of creativity. People simply need to talk, react, teach and explain. With Detail, everyone can create videos like a professional.”
He said the app combines the simplicity of the Camera app with the power of a video editor, but redesigned to deliver videos faster. “Whether you are recording a 60-second reaction video or a 30-minute interview, you can do it all in one place.
“The app uses the full power of the iPad and iPhone, with the ability to record from multiple cameras. Everything works seamlessly. Most people use Detail for four types of video content — reaction videos, podcasts, talking-head videos and livestreams. For each of these, we have streamlined the workflow. After recording, we help you make the content easily shareable. We want you to be the star of the show.”
The app also includes an AI scriptwriter that can rewrite or refine a script. Users can take an outline and turn it into a ready-to-record script. Once the script is finalised, the built-in teleprompter removes the need to memorise lines.
Detail: AI Video Editor has been in the news for leveraging Apple’s Foundation Models framework to turn a draft or outline into a ready-to-record teleprompter script. When a video is ready to share, a title, description, hashtags and messages can all be automatically generated.