The full list (via Neowin) is split into seven categories: Delight and Fun, Inclusivity, Innovation, Interaction, Social Impact, Visuals and Graphics, and Spatial Computing. The winners will be revealed at WWDC 2024, which kicks off on June 10.
There are some top-tier apps among the contenders. In the Delight and Fun category, we have Dudel Draw for drawing, Bears Gratitude for journaling, and Rooms for experimenting with 3D spaces. The games listed here include the chaotic racer What The Car?, the more relaxed NYT Games, and the “sweet adventure” Hello Kitty Island Adventure.
For Inclusivity, the nominees include Oko for assisting pedestrians, Complete Anatomy 2024 for exploring the human body, and Tiimo, a calendar app for neurodivergent people. In this category, the games are the meditative Unpacking, the puzzler Quadline, and the brilliantly colorful Crayola Adventures.
In the Innovation category, featured apps include Copilot for managing finances, SmartGym for fitness training, and Procreate Dreams for digital art. When it comes to games, the nominees are the action-packed Call of Duty: Warzone, the graphic novel-esque Lost in Play, and the board game adaptation Wavelength.
Discover the best iPhone apps and games of 2024 that might just take home a coveted Apple Design Award!
Interaction and impact
For Interaction, Procreate Dreams appears again, alongside the Arc Search app, which is taking on Google and has garnered fans, as well as the Crouton app for managing recipes. The games here include the “engagingly eerie” Little Nightmares, the music rhythm game Rytmos, and Finity, a thoughtful matching game.
For the Social Impact finalists, the selections are How We Feel, Ahead: Emotions Coach, and Gentler Streak Fitness Tracker (previously featured on TechRadar), all designed to enhance well-being. The games in this category are the visual novel The Wreck, city simulation Cityscapes: Sim Builder, and the bedtime experience The Bear.
In the Visuals and Graphics category, the finalists are Sunlitt for tracking the sun, Meditate for tracking meditation sessions, and Rooms again. The games shortlisted here are Death Stranding Director’s Cut, which looks fantastic even on mobile, the imaginative and immersive Lies of P, and the turn-based combat game Honkai: Star Rail.
The final category, with a nod to the Apple Vision Pro, is Spatial Computing. Here, the apps are Sky Guide (for stargazing), NBA (for basketball), and Djay (for music creation). The games shortlisted in this category are the “effervescent rhythm game” Synth Riders and the peaceful puzzlers Blackbox and Loóna.
While we haven’t had the chance to test all of these apps and games, they all appear to be of very high quality, as you would expect from those shortlisted by Apple. Perhaps try out some of the best iPhone apps and games of 2024 while we wait for WWDC 2024 to roll around next month.
