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The year is rolling to a close and you know what that means. No, not just fewer shopping days ’til Christmas, it’s also time for Apple’s annual look at what was good in the App Store over the year. With how much time we spend on our mobile devices, lists like these give a glimpse into what is really occupying our time.
YouTube appears to be the fan favorite on mobile this year, with “most popular iPhone app of the year,” adding to its Google award, as well.
Close behind are other major social media apps, such as Instagram, Snapchat, Messenger and Facebook. Bitmoji, which was the most downloaded app last year, slipped down to 6th place, possibly due to increased competition.
Here’s the rest of the top 20 free apps of the year, according to Apple:
- Netflix
- Google Maps
- Gmail
- Spotify Music
- Amazon
- Uber
- WhatsApp Messenger
- Pandora
- Wish
- TikTok
- Cash App
- Google Photos
- Google Chrome
Eighty percent of teens prefer iPhone to Android, and that’s fairly obvious in this list of the top free apps with TikTok and Cash App having a larger percentage of teen users. YouTube is also the most-used app amongst teens.
Photography apps rule the roost in the paid app charts, with selfie-enhancing app Facetune taking top honors for the second year in a row. Special effects app kirakira+ came in second place.
Top 20 free games on iOS
In the App Store, Fortnite was the most downloaded free-to-play game. Overall, this has really been Fortnite’s year, and the larger teen user base on iOS likely was a significant factor. One can only wonder if that would also be the case for the Google Play store if Fortnite was available through it.
The rest of the list includes hits like PUBG Mobile and ROBLOX, check it out below.
- Fortnite
- Helix Jump
- Rise Up
- PUBG MOBILE
- Hole.io
- Love Balls
- Snake VS Block
- Rules of Survival
- ROBLOX
- Dune!
- Subway Surfers
- Episode
- Word Link
- Toon Blast
- Color Road!
- HQ Trivia
- Twisty Road!
- 8 Ball Pool™
- Kick the Buddy
- Sniper 3D Assassin: Gun Games
The editorial crew at Apple’s App Store also hand-picked their choices for the best apps of 2018. The hugely powerful sketching app Procreate Pocket was their pick for the overall best iPhone app of the year, while Donut Country was picked as the best game.
If you want to see the rest of the rankings, head on over to iTunes where everything from music to podcasts has a round-up.
What were some of your favorite iOS apps of 2018? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
Editors’ Recommendations:
- You can now access Google Assistant on iOS by asking Siri to do it for you
- Cracks begin to show in the security of Apple’s App Store
- Google Assistant will now praise you for being nice to it
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