Apple Reveals 2023 App Store Award Finalists For iPhone, iPad

Each year, Apple gives awards to the apps and games it thinks are especially outstanding. It has just unveiled the finalists for this year’s awards— the winners will be revealed later this month, Apple Fellow Phil Schiller announced.

It’s an intriguing list, in full at the end of this post with links to each app and Apple’s reasoning for it. I’m going to pick out my four favorites.

Flighty

By a country mile (or 30,000 feet, at least), Flighty is one of the best apps in the App Store. It finds upcoming flights and gives you all the information you can possibly need. As well as gate information, often before the airport screens, it tells you where your plane is right now, whether it will be late, and even how long that aircraft has been flying. It now shows friends’ flights as well, which is remarkably helpful. It once told me a flight had been delayed for an hour well before the airline admitted it.

Duolingo

It’s not a new app, but it’s mighty useful. Languages from Spanish and Portuguese to Klingon and High Valyrian are here and more recently it’s added non-language extras like Math and Music. Fun to use, it’s genuinely a boon.

AllTrails: Hike, Bike & Run

Speaking as someone who gets very easily lost, I have had AllTrails on my iPhone since I started hiking and it’s been an essential helper. There’s lots of content and plenty of detail and information for a huge range of hikes, runs and cycle rides.

Return to Monkey Island

If you’re old enough to remember the first Monkey Island games, you’ll know the adventures of Guybrush Threepwood were brilliantly witty point-and-click stories with fiendish puzzles. This new title continues in the same vein and looks spectacular.

Here’s Apple’s full list. I’ll be reporting on the winners as soon as they’re announced.

iPhone App of the Year Finalists

AllTrails, Duolingo and Flighty

iPhone Game of the Year Finalists

Afterplace, Honkai: Star Rail and Vampire Survivors

iPad App of the Year Finalists

Concepts, DaVinci Resolve and Prêt-à-Makeup

iPad Game of the Year Finalists

Eggy Party, Lost in Play and Pocket City 2

Mac App of the Year Finalists

Linearity Curve, Photomator and Portal

Mac Game of the Year Finalists