Apple Announces This Year's App Design Award Winners Ahead of WWDC 2026

[MacRumors]

WWDC is set to start on Monday, June 8, and ahead of the keynote event, Apple has announced the winners of its annual Apple Design Awards. The Apple Design Awards recognize apps and games for their innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.

Apple chose one app and one game for each of the six award categories.

• Delight and Fun - Grug (App) and Is This Seat Taken? (Game)
• Innovation - NBA: Live Games and Scores (App) and Blue Prince (Game)
• Interaction - Moonlitt: Moon Phase Tracker (App) and Sago Mini Jinja's Garden (Game)
• Inclusivity - Guitar Wiz (App) and Pine Hearts (Game)
• Social Impact - Primary: News in Depth (App) and Consume Me (Game)
• Visuals and Graphics - Tide Guide: Charts and Tables (App) and Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition (Game)

More details on the winning apps and games and the developers behind them can be found on Apple's website. Apple also has a selection of apps and games that were selected as finalists before the winners were chosen.

WWDC will begin on Monday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

Article Link: Apple Announces This Year's App Design Award Winners Ahead of WWDC 2026

 

[63W]

Some of these apps have one ratting/review. Have no innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.🙄

 

[Astuces iOS]

Some of these apps have one ratting/review. Have no innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement.🙄

I agree, when Apple deserves winners, it's always random...

 

[sw1tcher]

Social Impact - Primary: News in Depth (App) and Consume Me (Game)

What's suppose to be the link for the Primary: News in Depth app goes to the Watch Duty: Wildfire Maps app

So, who's the actual winner for Social Impact, Primary: News in Depth or Watch Duty: Wildfire Maps?

 

[ipacers]

I’m sorry, the PoS NBA app won an award?

 

[Steakface McToenailtongue]

The email they sent out doesn’t work.

 

[sw1tcher]

I’m sorry, the PoS NBA app won an award?

Apple kissing up to the NBA because

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www.macrumors.com

 

[datsdatcharlie]

what are these options 😭

 

[mattaaron]

Apple kissing up to the NBA because

Apple Has 'Expressed Interest' in NBA Streaming Rights

Apple has "expressed interest" in acquiring an NBA streaming package, according to a new report from CNBC. Apple is among other interested parties that include Amazon and NBC Sports, with NBCUniversal particularly interested in reacquiring NBA games. NBCUniversal is aiming for a deal that would...

www.macrumors.com

 

[Ursadorable]

Apple should hire this dev to lead their UI team. This is already 100x better than liquid glass.

 

[tomtad]

Where's MS Teams?

 

[CarAnalogy]

The categories get vaguer and more meaningless every year.

 

[Hildy]

Is that pronounced triple V D C 2026?

 

[AriaAmaris]

I very rarely install new apps. Developers want too much access when it's not needed. Apple needs to crack down on this intrusion.

 

[whitestar27]

Just for funsies I installed that Tide Guide app. I use tide info here in NZ and it would be neat to have an app. Well despite it saying worldwide, it only showed USA locations. I tried typing in a local town that has tide info with our Metservice and it didn't find anything. I asked it to show me local stations and it just locked up. Completely useless despite it saying worldwide and it was constantly pestering me to buy a subscription

 

[svish]

Good to know about these apps and games. Will try a few of them.

 

[Arran]

Social Impact - Primary: News in Depth (App) and …

“Primary: News in Depth” interested me, but it’s only available on Apple Vision Pro.

How’s it going to make a social impact? I’d like to know the rationale behind that award. 😕

 

[CaptainV]

Just for funsies I installed that Tide Guide app. I use tide info here in NZ and it would be neat to have an app. Well despite it saying worldwide, it only showed USA locations. I tried typing in a local town that has tide info with our Metservice and it didn't find anything. I asked it to show me local stations and it just locked up. Completely useless despite it saying worldwide and it was constantly pestering me to buy a subscription

I can use it perfectly fine in the Netherlands. No pestering of subscriptions, just a neat bar above the screen when I scroll outside of the free plan window.