Top Downloaded iOS Apps of 2014 Include Minecraft, YouTube, Heads Up and Facebook Messenger

[MacRumors]

Apple today shared cumulative lists of the best performing apps in the App Store across 2014 with various media sites and on iTunes, highlighting the iPad Top Paid, iPad Top Free, iPhone Top Paid, and iPhone Top Free apps that were most popular with consumers this year.

The number one free iPhone app in 2014 was Facebook Messenger, which continues to have a two and a half star rating in the App Store due to Facebook's unpopular decision to remove messaging capabilities from the main Facebook app in an effort to get users to download the standalone Facebook Messenger app. Other popular free iPhone apps included Snapchat, Instagram, and Google Maps, with the top 10 listed below.

1. Facebook Messenger
2. Snapchat
3. YouTube
4. Facebook
5. Instagram
6. Pandora Radio
7. Google Maps
8. Flipagram
9. Spotify Music
10. 2048

The number one paid iPhone app in 2014 was popular party game Heads Up!, which was skyrocketed to fame thanks to its multiple appearances on The Ellen Degeneres Show. First launched in 2013, Heads Up! asks players to guess a word based on clues given by friends. Other popular paid iPhone apps included workout app 7 Minute Workout Challenge and photo editing app Afterlight.

1. Heads Up!
2. Minecraft - Pocket Edition
3. Afterlight
4. Plague Inc.
5. Sleep Cycle alarm clock
6. Facetune
7. Cut the Rope 2
8. Bloons TD 5
9. A Dark Room
10. 7 Minute Workout Challenge

The most popular paid iPad app was, unsurprisingly, Minecraft - Pocket Edition, which also ranked as one of the top paid iPhone apps. Minecraft first debuted on iOS in 2011, but since that time, the app has been updated more than 20 times with new features, better graphics, bug fixes, and more. Its constant updates and pervasive popularity have kept it in the top list of apps for several years running. Other popular paid iPad apps were Terraria, Notability, and Minecraft-style apps Survivalcraft and Terraria.

1. Minecraft - Pocket Edition
2. Cut the Rope 2
3. Heads Up!
4. The Room Two
5. Survivalcraft
6. Notability
7. Terraria
8. Plants vs. Zombies HD
9. Hide N Seek : Mini Game With Worldwide Multiplayer
10. Card Wars - Adventure Time

The App Store's most popular free iPad app for 2014 was Google's YouTube app, which is a standalone app that lets users watch YouTube videos on their devices. YouTube used to be included with iOS, but the dedicated app was removed with iOS 6, prompting Google to release an app in 2012. Netflix was the second most downloaded free iPad app in 2014, followed by a calculator app, Skype, and Microsoft Word. Facebook and Facebook Messenger, two of the most popular free iPhone apps, were also popular on the iPad.

1. YouTube
2. Netflix
3. Calculator for iPad Free
4. Skype for iPad
5. Microsoft Word
6. Facebook Messenger
7. Facebook
8. Candy Crush Saga
9. Chrome
10. Clash of Clans

Top grossing apps for the year included Clash of Clans, Candy Crush Saga, Game of War - Fire Age, Pandora Radio, and Big Fish Casino.

Earlier this month, Apple released its iTunes Store awards, highlighting some of the best apps, music, movies, and TV shows that were released in 2014. Those winning apps included Elevate - Brain Training, Threes!, Pixelmator, and Monument Valley. Of those apps, only two made Apple's top charts for 2014 -- Threes! was the 25th top paid iPhone app while Monument Valley was the 46th top paid iPhone app and 35th top paid iPad app.

Article Link: Top Downloaded iOS Apps of 2014 Include Minecraft, YouTube, Heads Up and Facebook Messenger

 

[cobbyco]

Ugh, 2048 made the list...

Threes! is just so much better.

 

[nav92]

It's not like anyone wanted to download the FB Messenger app.

 

[V.K.]

Ugh, 2048 made the list...

Threes! is just so much better.

Threes is not just better, it's the original app. 2048 is one of the myriad Threes rip-offs that came later. sad to see it making the list when Threes didn't.

 

[Rafagon]

Facebook Messenger doesn't deserve to be on the list...

 

[joshwenke]

Most downloaded does NOT mean most liked. For example, Facebook messenger...

 

[redheeler]

It's not like anyone wanted to download the FB Messenger app.

I never did, plus I'm running an older version of the Facebook app which still has chat functionality. They haven't bothered to disable it (yet).

 

[superram1234]

I never thought the day would come when angry birds wasnt on a top 10 list. Honestly, I never got what the hype was all about.

 

[poe diddley]

Ugh Fb messenger? As someone above mentioned it was not by choice. Can apple show us a list of most deleted apps? Cause that one would be at the top. I completely deleted all facebook apps from my devices after that bs.

 

[powertoold]

Twitter not included because it sucks. Who the hell uses Twitter, worst idea ever.

 

[XMZ-250]

If it wasn't forcing us to download facebook messenger, it will not make it to the list.

 

[Karma*Police]

People still pay for Pandora? For $25 I have all my music in the cloud AND commercial free radio with iTunes radio.

 

[mainstreetmark]

Sad that 2048, a rip off of Threes! made the list. Every one of you who played 2048 this year now have a duty to pay the original. C'mon - it's $2. That's half a big mac. You don't need the calories anyways. Also, it's made of pony meat.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/threes!/id779157948?mt=8

 

[Bahroo]

Pretty crazy how we can just download free powerful applications to our phones from a App Store, 10 years ago people would of been like huh what?

Nice, day by day too apps are slowly being updated to iOS 8/use of extensions and all the new API's, , which makes apps that are already updated to iOS 8/Use of extensions quite powerful and nifty, gooooooood stuff

 

[pdaholic]

Most deleted app: Facebook!

I'll go to the website if I care to look at it.

 

[roadbloc]

Nobody wanted it and yet somehow it is the most popular. Screw you Facebook for forcing this crap upon people.

 

[Michael Goff]

It's not like anyone wanted to download the FB Messenger app.

So why did they download it? Did somebody put a gun to their head?

 

[FieldingMellish]

I'm living a reasonably full and productive life without knowing anything about these apps.

 

[Kobayagi]

Sad that 2048, a rip off of Threes! made the list. Every one of you who played 2048 this year now have a duty to pay the original. C'mon - it's 1.64€ That's half a big mac. You don't need the calories anyways. Also, it's made of pony meat.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/threes!/id779157948?mt=8

You sure 2048 wasn't the first? I actually loved that game. The numbers made me think of RAM amounts.

 

[TheJae]

So why did they download it? Did somebody put a gun to their head?

You don't socialize much, do you? If you have more than 1 friend on Facebook, you'd understand why the Messenger app is a necessity.

 

[trunten]

Fingers crossed that apple will see that "Calculator for iPad Free" being the 3rd most downloaded app for iPad means it's about time the iPad had a calculator...

 

[johnnnw]

People still pay for Pandora? For $25 I have all my music in the cloud AND commercial free radio with iTunes radio.

Both of those are trash.

What would anyone pay to listen to radio? Spotify trumps both.

 

[V.K.]

You sure 2048 wasn't the first?

absolutely sure. you can easily see it by the version history dates on both apps in the app store. Threes! creators are not happy about this:
http://asherv.com/threes/threemails/
but there is nothing they can do. it happens with every good game - scum devs come along and rip it off.

 

[xARx2]

You don't socialize much, do you? If you have more than 1 friend on Facebook, you'd understand why the Messenger app is a necessity.

Since when did socializing equate to using Facebook?

 

[SnarkyBear]

So why did they download it? Did somebody put a gun to their head?

Really! As long as people choose to download it, no amount of bitching about how bad it is will change Facebook's attitude. The ONLY way we can send a message to Facebook that this is not a good idea is to choose to NOT use the app. But since everyone did download it, well, you all have encouraged this kind of behavior. So don't expect anything to change