Apple’s ‘iPhone App of the Year’ awards again ignore AI apps

Apple’s recent announcement of the finalists for its “iPhone App of the Year” award has raised eyebrows, as it seems to downplay the significant impact of AI on the mobile app ecosystem. Despite the rapid advancements and widespread adoption of AI-powered apps like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, Microsoft Copilot, and AI image and video generators, none of these innovative applications were even nominated.
Sarah Perez for TechCrunch:
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Given the popularity of ChatGPT, also now an Apple partner for its Siri improvements, it’s surprising to find the app has not earned any official year-end accolades from Apple’s App Store editorial team, despite its adoption of clever new features in 2024, like an Advanced Voice Mode for chatting with the AI virtual assistant and a web search feature that challenges Google.
While ChatGPT is regularly featured within the App Store and Google Play’s editorial suggestions, both Apple and Google last year avoided nominating ChatGPT as an overall winner, despite the app becoming the fastest-growing consumer application in history in early 2023 when it reached 100 million users shortly after its launch. This year, Google dubbed party-planning app Partiful its app of the year.
If anything, Apple’s curated list of finalists suggests that apps empowering human creativity, not those assisting with AI automation, are the apps that are worthy of highlighting. Most of the finalists’ apps help users do something more with their iPhone or other device, without relying on an AI assistant or features, whether that’s designing, organizing, filming, creating, or playing.

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MacDailyNews Note: See all of Apple’s App Store Award finalists here.

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