Apple Names Disney Plus the Apple TV App of the Year
Apple recognized Disney Plus as the best Apple TV app of 2020 — an award capping a year of monster growth for the Mouse House’s streaming service.
Disney Plus also was the No. 3 most-downloaded free iPhone app of the year globally, behind Zoom and TikTok, and the No. 2 free iPad app after Zoom, according to Apple. (See the top 10 download charts below.) In announcing its editorial picks for the App Store Best of 2020, Apple cited Disney Plus as having “offered a sense of unlimited possibility that many craved” during a difficult year.
Meanwhile, in the Android world, Disney Plus was voted the No. 1 app of 2020 by Google Play users.
Disney Plus launched in November 2019 as the streaming home for Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars movies as well as originals like “The Mandalorian.” In less than a year, Disney Plus notched 73.7 million paid subscribers globally, a bright spot for the media conglomerate amid economic woes inflicted by the COVID pandemic.
Other honorees on Apple’s App Store Best of 2020 list include exercise app Wakeout!; videoconferencing app Zoom; games like Pokémon Go, Genshin Impact, Legends of Runeterra, Disco Elysium, Dandara Trials of Fear and Sneaky Sasquatch; and the United Nations World Food Programme’s ShareTheMeal app. For the awards, Apple created the first-ever physical App Store Best of 2020 award featuring the blue App Store logo set into 100% recycled aluminum.
The Apple-picked awards are meant to highlight partners and developers that contribute to the tech giant’s massive App Store haul. In 2019, the App Store generated an estimated $50 billion in gross sales. But there’s been a growing backlash against Apple’s policies for the App Store, as companies like Spotify and Epic Games (developer of “Fortnite”) have balked at paying its 30% “tax” on transactions.
Apple’s App Store Best of 2020 Winners
1. iPhone App of the Year: Wakeout! (Andres Canella)
2. iPhone Game of the Year: Genshin Impact (miHoYo)
3. iPad App of the Year: Zoom (Zoom)
4. iPad Game of the Year: Legends of Runeterra (Riot Games)
5. Mac App of the Year: Fantastical (Flexibits)
6. Mac Game of the Year: Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)
7. Apple TV App of the Year: Disney Plus (Disney)
8. Apple TV Game of the Year: Dandara Trials of Fear (Raw Fury)
9. Apple Watch App of the Year: Endel (Endel)
10. Apple Arcade Game of the Year: Sneaky Sasquatch (RAC7)
11. App Trend of the Year: Shine, for helping users practice self care (Shine)
12. App Trend of the Year: Explain Everything Whiteboard, for helping bring remote classrooms to life (Explain Everything)
13. App Trend of the Year: Caribu, for connecting families to loved ones (Caribu)
14. App Trend of the Year: Pokémon Go, for reinventing the way we play (Niantic)
15. App Trend of the Year: ShareTheMeal, for helping users make a difference (United Nations)
Apple’s Most Downloaded Apps of 2020 Charts
Top Free iPhone Apps
1. Zoom Cloud Meetings
2. TikTok
3. Disney Plus
4. YouTube
5. Instagram
6. Facebook
7. Snapchat
8. Messenger
9. Gmail
10. Cash App
Top Paid iPhone Apps
1. TouchRetouch
2. Procreate Pocket
3. Dark Sky Weather
4. Facetune
5. HotSchedules
6. AutoSleep Track Sleep
7. The Wonder Weeks
8. SkyView
9. Shadowrocket
10. Sky Guide
Top Free iPhone Games
1. Among Us!
2. Call of Duty: Mobile
3. Roblox
4. Subway Surfers
5. Ink Inc. – Tattoo Drawing
6. Magic Tiles 3: Piano Game
7. Brain Test: Tricky Puzzles
8. Brain Out
9. Coin Master
10. Cube Surfer!
Top Paid iPhone Games
1. Minecraft
2. Plague Inc.
3. Heads Up!
4. Monopoly
5. Bloons TD6
6. Geometry Dash
7. NBA 2K20
8. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
9. The Game of Life
10. True Skate
Top Free iPad Apps
1. Zoom Cloud Meetings
2. Disney Plus
3. YouTube
4. Netflix
5. Google Chrome
6. TikTok
7. Amazon Prime Video
8. Gmail
9. Hulu
10. Google Classroom
Top Paid iPad Apps
1. Procreate
2. GoodNotes 5
3. Notability
4. Duet Display
5. Teach Your Monster
6. LumaFusion
7. Affinity Designer
8. Toca Hair Salon 3
9: Toca Life: Hospital
10. Toca Kitchen 2
Top Free iPad Games
1. Among Us!
2. Roblox
3. Magic Tiles 3: Piano Game
4. Ink Inc. – Tattoo Drawing
5. Call of Duty: Mobile
6. Subway Surfers
7. Dancing Road: Color Ball Run!
8. Tiles Hop – EDM Rush
9. Mario Kart Tour
10. Save The Girl!
Top Paid iPad Games
1. Minecraft
2. Monopoly
3. Bloons TD 6
4. Plague Inc.
5. Geometry Dash
6. The Game of Life
7. Five Nights at Freddy’s
8. Human: Fall Flat
9. Stardew Valley
10. Terraria
Top Arcade Games
1. Sneaky Sasquatch
2. Hot Lava
3. Skate City
4. Sonic Racing
5. Pac-Man Party Royale
6. SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit
7. Oceanhorn 2
8. Crossy Road Castle
9. What the Golf?
10. LEGO Brawls
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