Best iOS Apps and Games from Apple Design Awards 2016

As part of the Apple’s annually held Worldwide Developer’s Conference, Apple Design Awards showcase and award (duh) best iOS apps that have been released or updated during the year. And usually they are truly, honestly and 100% completely great! It’s one my favourite parts of WWDC. So here’s the list of Winner Apps and Games I’m going to download during the next few days or weeks (once I have enough of spare dollars on my debit card).

Complete Anatomy

Complete anatomy is more of an educational app, that won’t be used by most. However if you’re studying medicine or anything related to it, then you’ll find this app outstandingly useful and beautiful. Might be because there aren’t many apps on medicine and human anatomy, but even then who would’ve done it so well?

Streaks

It’s pretty much too difficult to find a really good to-do list app that understands your problems with achieving your goals and executing tasks. Steaks app is by far the best time management app in the App Store according to Apple. Not only it lets you look after the things you have to do, but it also takes great advantage of Apple Watch notifications and other features of the device and it’s operating system.

Download Streaks exclusively for iOS and Apple Watch.

Zova

With rich, very much thought of, carefully edited video content and smart design, Zova conveys high definition video recordings  with unique attention to the setting of the user.

The Apple TV application visuals were made  particularly for the big display and with a custom video player,  in addition to extraordinary Siri remote use.

The exceedingly captivating recordings and astute organization keeps you concentrated on working out.

Frame.io

Fram.io is an app that helps teams to collaborate on their video projects with ease using every function of iOS to the users advantage. Working on one video in a team is a quite complicated process – try it and you’ll understand. But thanks to Frame.io you don’t have to try the sophisticated way, and start with the real problem solver. Most importantly, the app is seamlessly integrated with Final Cut Pro X. Overall the video making experience turns out to be even more enjoyable than you think.

You can download the app for iOS now on App Store.

Ulysses

I’ve seen the Ulysses app on the Mac App Store long time ago and I never had the chance to buy it, even though it promised a great deal of writing experience, which could come quite handy given my blogging situation 😉 Moreover, there was another app, called Blogo, that promised something different, which was more important for me – integration with WordPress.

Nevertheless, I still haven’t used the app, but now when it’s available for iOS, and given they won a most prestigious app award of the year, I have strong willingness to download the app to try and write some #longreads.

Among their advantages over other writing apps (not counting the Apple Design Award 2016) are things like “…Fullscreen Mode, Dark Mode, Minimal mode, multitasking for Split View and Slide Over, 3D Touch, Sharing Extensions, Spotlight search, Handoff between devices, and iCloud syncing…” for continuous writing experience. It is quite helpful for bloggers like me as we aren’t always in front of our computers, but still need powerful and up-to-date writing tools wherever we go.

Chameleon Run

The world of mobile gaming is growing in an exponential pace. Sometimes I find myself not being able to catch up with all the new games out there. Chameleon Run sounds like yet another running game (okay, you’ve got the cool graphics), but why should I pay 2 precious bucks to play it, and not my favourite Minion Run which is free to download and play? Let’s see…

  • You can play the game using only one hand. A finger really, the hand is only for holding the iPhone.
  • Have you ever seen this trick: Which colour is this word “blue“. Similar trick is used in the game. You only have to jump on the blocks that match your (poop) dust color. Sounds as easy as naming that blue coloured word, but it does get tricky, and isn’t this fun?
  • Gaming controls support your entertainment experience with the ability to “double jump” and “head jump”.

And these are all on top of the must-have game features like: beautiful insanely precise graphics, scoreboards to compete with friends, very smooth walkthrough, and two button controls.

Anyway, is this doesn’t sound good enough, then remember the fact that the game got the Award – this year. I don’t remember any runner games winning the Apple Design Award ever, please, correct me if I’m wrong here. Which only means that the developer Jan Ilavsky done some incredible hard work all by himself to come up with an idea and polish it to perfection.

Funny story how Jan came up with an idea of the game – he broke his arm! Ok, maybe not funny, but he did find out the there are no games (at least it was too hard to find them) that you can play with only one hand and still enjoy it continuously.

And if that didn’t sound reassuring and good enough to go buy and play the game, then don’t download it now on App Store 😉

Lara Croft: Go

I think I’ve already written a blogpost which included Lara Croft: GO, and it has definitely been my ‘App of the Week’ (my weekly app choice showcased on the right column of this blog)  some day during the past 12 months. But that’s not important – the thing is that Lara Croft: GO has also won the Apple Design Award last year. How is that even possible: same game is among the best iOS games two years in a row.

Lara Croft: GO has quite a new gameplay compared to other games in the App Store, and it seems to fit perfectly on iOS. It costs $4.99 and that’s usually TOO MUCH for a mobile game. Come on guys, I’m just a tiny little blogger, and exchange rate for my local currency to the dollar is terrifying. FYI, it costs me double the amount to buy the same app now than it used to be a few months ago, except for free apps #ThisIsGolden. However, usually the more developer charges for the app, the more curious I get about what app value it pays back. So I kept finding out.

First of all, I grew up playing Tomb Raider, and loved it as a kid. But now that I pay for my games myself, there has to be more.

Second of all, great graphics charged with Apple’s Metal technology. Always a pleasure!

Do you think mobile games lack good soundtracks nowadays? Well, SQUARE ENIX INC, which is the developer studio behind this game, thought so and fixed the whole situation. Really, playing this game with a good pair of headphones is an experience you shouldn’t miss.

The game controls are as easy as swiping around the screen. It may look a tiny bit dumb, I know, but hey – beautiful game graphics are here to help. What I mean is that when you’re IN THE GAME you don’t worry about it that much. More than that – it feel good to be in control of where Lara Goes, and crucial in situations where you meet an enemy and start panicking.

The good old puzzle solving is still a great part of the Lara’s adventures. So keep your brain open for small details – Lara needs your attention.

Oh and lastly, did I say that you can dress up Lara? You only have to collect relics. If only life was THAT simple, right?

#BUMMER: Lara Croft: GO doesn’t work on an iPhone 4 model 🙁

Click to download Lara Croft: GO for iOS now on the App Store.

INKS.

The blending and mixing impacts of ink was vigorously inquired about and recreated with custom shaders and Metal APIs.

INKS demonstrates that with enough thought and tender loving care, a current class can be reconsidered to make something incredible and one of a kind.

INKS is new and interesting, and the app speaks five languages.

Auxy

Auxy is a sound creation application with thousands of positive reviews in the App Store.

It’s so easy to create intense, deep sounds and rhythms with Auxy that it sometimes feels like you’re gonna make the next hit by playing an app.

dJay Pro

Speaking of music creation, Djay Pro is a titan of music apps for iOS, and probably amongst Android apps too. It has been quickly using every new feature of iOS that became available throughout the years of updates. Among the best things about Djay Pro are high-def audio and 4K video streaming, and up to 4 tracks to mix simultaneously.

Linum (Student Winner of Best iOS Apps)

Linum is a riddle amusement where the objective is to associate hubs to their arrival focuses.

The excellence of Linum is in its effortlessness: with a clean UI and straightforward standard set, Linum challenges clients to finish levels with the least moves conceivable.

As the quantity of hubs expands, complex riddles are uncovered that test even the best players.

Dividr (Student Winner)

Dividr is a fun and addicting 2D arcade diversion in which the objective is to move gleaming control squares inwards and outwards to maintain a strategic distance from impediments and gather focuses along the way.

Composed totally in Swift, Dividr utilizes 3D Touch change weight to decide how hard a player is squeezing, and its basic, clean plan makes this amusement an enjoyment to play and deserving of winning a Student Apple Design Award.

Makers Josh Deichmann, Patrick Pistor, and Erik Lydick began advancement of this application while going to a Best iOS Apps Challenge at the Rochester Institute of Technology.


If you enjoyed my brief insight into best iOS apps, please share this article for your friends to see.


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