Apple Names 15 Best iPhone, iPad Apps Of 2020 — Helpfulness In Pandemic Takes Center Stage

Apple Inc AAPL named the App Store Best of 2020 winners Tuesday with 15 developers receiving their first-ever award trophies from the iPhone maker.

What Happened: This year’s list of winners was dominated by those apps that made the transition to at-home life easier during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“In 2020, developers overwhelmingly led a trend towards helpfulness,” Apple said in a statement.

The iPhone App of the year was “Wakeout!,” which is focused on gentle exercise at home, offices, and classrooms. 

Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM video-conferencing application emerged as the iPad App of the year. 

Walt Disney Co’s DIS Disney+ app was named the Apple TV App of the year by the Tim Cook-led company for offering  “a sense of unlimited possibility that many craved.”

“Genshin Impact” from miHoYo took the iPhone Game of the Year title, while “Legends of Runeterra” from Riot Games was declared the best iPad game by Apple.

Why It Matters: Apple’s services category, which includes App Store, saw revenues increase 16.3% to $14.55 billion which offset weak product sales in the fourth quarter.

The Cupertino, California-based company has been in the eye of the storm over its 30% commission charged on in-app purchases, which has led to litigation with game developer Epic, the maker of "Fortnite." 

The iPhone maker recently slashed its App Store fee to 15% for small businesses and exempted virtual events from paying the fee altogether through June, amid criticism of its policies towards developers.

On Monday, it was reported that the tech giant had hired former Robinhood executive Josh Elman known for investing in Discord and Medium to work on App discovery for its marketplace.

Price Action: Apple shares closed nearly 3.1% higher at $122.72 on Monday and fell 0.29% in the after-hours session.