Apple Unveils 2024 Design Award Finalists

Apple has revealed its finalists for the 2024 Apple Design Awards, where it recognizes “innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design.” Essentially, these are top app picks from Apple in a variety of categories for games and apps in general.
The company said the awards are also “a moment to step back and celebrate the Apple developer community in all its many forms.” The winners will be announced on June 10 at WWDC.
There are seven major categories (this year adds Spatial Computing, which are for Vision Pro) and 42 app finalists for this year’s awards. Check them out below:
Delight and Fun
Apps
- Dudel Draw – Silly Little Apps LLC, USA – iPhone, iPad
- Bears Gratitude – Isuru Wanasinghe, Australia – iPhone, iPad, Mac
- Rooms – Things, Inc., USA – iPhone, iPad
Games
- WHAT THE CAR? – Triband ApS, Denmark – iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro
- NYT Games – The New York Times Company, USA – iPhone, iPad
- Hello Kitty Island Adventure – Sunblink Entertainment LLC, USA – iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro
Inclusivity
Apps
- oko – AYES, Belgium – iPhone
- Complete Anatomy 2024 – 3D4Medical.com, Ireland – iPad, Mac
- Tiimo – tiimo ApS, Denmark – iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Games
- Unpacking – Humble Bundle, Inc, USA – iPhone, iPad
- Quadline – Kovalov Ivan, Ukraine – iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro
- Crayola Adventures – RED GAMES CO, LLC, USA – iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro
Innovation
Apps
- Copilot Money – Copilot Money, Inc., USA – iPhone, Mac
- SmartGym – Mateus Abras, Brazil – iPhone, iPad, Watch, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro
- Procreate Dreams – Savage Interactive Pty Ltd, Australia – iPad
Games
- Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile – Activision Publishing, Inc., USA – iPhone, iPad
- Lost in Play – Snapbreak Games AB, Sweden – iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
- Wavelength – Palm Court LLC, USA – iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro
Interaction
Apps
- Procreate Dreams – Savage Interactive Pty Ltd, Australia – iPad
- Arc Search – The Browser Company of New York Inc., USA – iPhone
- Crouton – Devin Davies, New Zealand – iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro
Games
- Little Nightmares – Playdigious, France – iPhone, iPad
- Rytmos – Floppy Club ApS, Denmark – iPhone, iPad
- finity. – Seabaa, Inc., USA – iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV
Social Impact
Apps
- How We Feel – The How We Feel Project, Inc., USA – iPhone
- Ahead: Emotions Coach – ahead solutions GmbH, Germany – iPhone
- Gentler Streak Fitness Tracker – Gentler Stories d.o.o., Slovenia – iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Games
- The Wreck – The Pixel Hunt, France – iPhone, iPad
- Cityscapes: Sim Builder – MagicFuel Games, USA – iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro
- The Bear – Mucks Games UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Germany – iPhone, iPad
Visuals and Graphics
Apps
- Sunlitt – Nicolas Mariniello, Italy – iPhone, iPad, Watch
- Meditate – RhythmicWorks Software LLP, India – iPhone, Watch
- Rooms – Things Inc., USA – iPhone, iPad
Games
- Death Stranding Director’s Cut – 505 Games, Inc., USA – iPhone, iPad, Mac
- Lies of P – NEOWIZ Corporation, South Korea – Mac
- Honkai: Star Rail – COGNOSPHERE PTE. LTD., Singapore – iPhone, iPad
Spatial Computing
Apps
- Sky Guide – Fifth Star Labs LLC, USA – Apple Vision Pro, iPhone, iPad
- NBA – NBA Media Ventures, LLC, USA – Apple Vision Pro, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
- djay – Algoriddim GmbH, Germany – Apple Vision Pro, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
Games
- Synth Riders – Kluge Strategic Inc., USA – Apple Vision Pro, iPhone, iPad
- Blackbox – Shapes and Stories, USA – Apple Vision Pro
- Loóna – Loona Inc., USA – Apple Vision Pro
You can check out last year’s Apple Design Award winners here.
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Most of the entries, in all categories, seem to be games. This echoes what one sees these days on the “Today” tab of the App Store app, and strikes me as a worrisome bellwether: how healthy are the platforms if gaming is the main focus? There is far more utility in these devices than gaming and entertainment. Are the more useful categories of apps “full” or complete? Is there no more innovation in supporting day-to-day tasks and such?