Just days after Apple announced the best apps of 2022 at its annual App Store Awards, Google Play has now released its own “Best of” list. The company published a list of winners in all categories, including those chosen by its own editorial team and by Android owners as part of the User’s Choice Awards. Google named viral AI-generated art app Dream by WOMBO this year’s best app in the US, while users voted BeReal their favorite.
BeReal also received Apple’s App of the Year award, signaling a younger generation’s love of new forms of social networking.
Meanwhile, Apex Legends Mobile was both Google’s pick for Best Game and the User’s Choice winner. The company found that the game was trending regularly throughout the year, often appearing in the top 10 download lists.
Overall, Google selected winners in 20 categories in the US Google Play Store, in addition to regional awards in non-US markets.
This year, the company also introduced new categories, including Best Game Story and Best Ongoing Game, to better highlight the unique types of games its developers have brought to the ecosystem, it said. Also, Google has selected the best apps for fun, personal growth, and the best everyday items and hidden gems.
Google said its choices should reflect what mattered most to people in 2022, including ways to escape reality through games and ways to help us stay grounded and present.
Beyond category selection, Google also selected specific winners for platforms beyond smartphones, highlighting its recent push to make Google Play a place where a variety of different types of apps can be easily found.
Recently, Google overhauled the Play Store to better direct people to apps for their watches, tablets, and TVs — a change that was partially reflected in the year-end winners list that recognized Google Todoist as its best app for Android Wear and Pocket designated as the best for tablets and BandLab the best for Chromebook users.
It also selected the best games for tablets with Tower of Fantasy and for Chromebook with Roblox.
The full list of winners is below.
Overall the best app and game
- Best App: Dream by WOMBO
- Best Game: Apex Legends Mobile
choice of users
- App: BeReal
- Game: Apex Legends Mobile
The best apps of 2022
- Best for Fun: PetStar (Honourable Mentions: DanceFitMe, NoteIt Widget)
- Best for Personal Growth: Breathwrk (Honourable Mentions: Duolingo ABC, Gym Log & Workouts, Ukulele by Yousician)
- Best Everyday Essentials: Plant Parent (Honourable Mentions: Book Morning Routine Wakeing Up, Daily Diary, Sleep Tracker)
- Best Hidden Treasures: Recover Athletics (Honourable Mentions: Linktree, Little Lunches, Wamble)
- Best Apps for Good: The Stigma App (honorable mention: Sleep Fruits, Zario)
- Best Wear: Todoist
- Best for Tablets: Pocket
- Best for Chromebooks (new category): BandLab
The best games of 2022
- Best Multiplayer: Dislyte (Honorable Mentions: Apex Legends Mobile, Catalyst Black, Diablo Immortal, Rocket League Sideswipe)
- Best Pick Up & Play: Angry Birds Journey (Honourable Mentions: Gun & Dungeons, Hook 2, Hyde and Seek, Quadline)
- Best Indies: Dicey Dungeons (Honourable Mentions: Dungeons of Dreadrock, Knotwords, One Hand Clapping, Phobies)
- Best Story (New Category): Papers, Please (Honorable Mentions: Deemo II, Inua – A Story in Ice and Time, The Secret of Cat Island, Turnip Boy Comits Tax Evasion)
- Best Continuing (New Category): Genshin Impact (Honourable Mentions: Candy Crush Saga, Garena Free Fire, Pokémon GO, Roblox)
- Best on Play Pass (new category): Very Little Nightmares (Honorable Mentions: Bridge Constructor, Final Fantasy VII, Linelight, Path of Giants)
- Best for Tablets: Tower of Fantasy (Honourable Mentions: Angry Birds Journey, Catalyst Black, Diablo Immortal, Papers, Please)
- Best Game for Chromebooks (new category): Roblox
Elsewhere on Google Play, the company has highlighted its best-selling books and audiobooks.
Users can find their country’s winners for all “Best of” lists in the new “Best of 2022” section of the Play Store.
