Maya Robertson
Apple has unveiled the winners of its 2025 Design Awards just days before its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). This year’s honorees span a range of categories celebrating user experience, innovation, and social impact—though notably, generative AI applications were again left out of the top recognitions.
The 2025 Design Awards spotlight 12 winners across six categories: Delight and Fun, Inclusivity, Innovation, Interaction, Social Impact, and Visuals and Graphics. Each category features one app and one game, selected for their creativity and thoughtful integration of Apple’s development frameworks and tools.
Apple’s selections continue a trend from last year, forgoing direct recognition of generative AI-powered apps despite the broader industry focus on AI development. While several winning apps include AI-based features—such as Speechify, which won in the Inclusivity category, and music editing platform Moises, which was named a finalist—the awards did not center on AI-native applications. This signals a continued preference from Apple to highlight design excellence and user experience over trending technologies.
Among this year’s notable winners:
- Social Impact: Watch Duty: Wildfire Maps, an app offering real-time updates during California wildfires, earned the award for its contribution to public safety and community awareness.
- Innovation: Developer prototyping tool Play, backed by venture firm M13, was recognized for its creative use of Apple’s development environment.
Smaller and independent developers dominated the finalist list, underscoring Apple’s ongoing support for global app creators outside of major corporate ecosystems. Many of the selected apps are from early-stage startups or independent creators, further reflecting Apple’s emphasis on how well developers leverage the company’s design frameworks rather than the size of the teams behind them.
Full List of 2025 Apple Design Award Winners:
Delight and Fun
- App: Capwords
- Game: Balatro
Inclusivity
- App: Speechify
- Game: Art of Fauna
Innovation
- App: Play
- Game: PBJ — The Musical
Interaction
- App: Taobao
- Game: DREDGE
Social Impact
- App: Watch Duty: Wildfire Maps
- Game: Neva
Visuals and Graphics
- App: Feather: Draw in 3D
- Game: Infinity Nikki
The announcement serves as a prelude to WWDC 2025, where Apple is expected to reveal its latest software advancements and developer tools. With AI development expanding across the tech industry, all eyes are now on whether Apple will address the topic more directly during its upcoming keynote.
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