These are the best iPhone apps and games of 2024 so far, according to Apple

Shortlist revealed for iPads, macOS, and the Vision Pro

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Every yearApplehands out Design Awards to the apps and games that it thinks really stand out (the2023 winners are here): it’s a prestigious accolade, and the shortlist for the 2024 batch of awards has now been announced.

The full list(viaNeowin) is split into seven categories, covering Delight and Fun, Inclusivity, Innovation, Interaction, Social Impact, Visuals and Graphics, and Spatial Computing. The winners are set to be named atWWDC 2024, which gets underway on June 10.

There are some top-tier apps here. In Delight and Fun we’ve gotDudel Drawfor drawing,Bears Gratitudefor journaling, andRoomsfor playing around with 3D spaces. The games in this category are the chaotic racerWhat The Car?, the more slow-pacedNYT Games, and the “sweet adventure"Hello Kitty Island Adventure.

For Inclusivity we haveOkoto help pedestrians,Complete Anatomy 2024to reveal the wonders of the human body, andTiimo, a calendar app for neurodivergent people. In this category the games are the meditativeUnpacking, the puzzlerQuadline, and the brilliantly colorfulCrayola Adventures.

Heading into the Innovation category, the apps list featuresCopilotfor helping you with your finances,SmartGymfor helping you with your fitness, and Procreate Dreams for digital art. Games-wise, there’s the actionerCall of Duty: Warzone, the graphic novel-esqueLost in Play, and the board game adaptationWavelength.

Interaction and impact

As for Interaction,Procreate Dreamsappears again, and we’ve got theArc Searchapp that’s taking onGoogle(which we’re fans of)and theCroutonapp for managing recipes. The games here are the “engagingly eerie"Little Nightmares, music rhythm gameRytmos, andFinity, which is a thoughtful matching game.

When it comes to the Social Impact finalists, the picks areHow We Feel,Ahead: Emotions Coach, andGentler Streak Fitness Tracker(aspreviously featured on TechRadar), all designed to improve your well-being. The games in this category are visual novelThe Wreck, city simCityscapes: Sim Builder, and bedtime experienceThe Bear.

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For Visuals and Graphics, the finalists areSunlittfor tracking the sun,Meditatefor tracking your meditations, andRoomsagain. The games shortlisted for this category areDeath Stranding Director’s Cut– which looks fantastic, even on mobile – then the imaginative and immersiveLies of Pand turn-based combat gameHonkai: Star Rail.

The final category (with a nod to theApple Vision Pro) is Spatial Computing. Here we’ve got the appsSky Guide(for stargazing),NBA(for basketball), andDjay(for music making). The games shortlisted here are “effervescent rhythm game"Synth Riders, and the peaceful puzzlersBlackboxandLoóna.

We haven’t been able to test out all these apps and games, but they all seem to be of a very high quality – as you would expect, if they’ve been shortlisted by Apple. Maybe give some of them a try while wewait for WWDC 2024to roll round next month.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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