2025 Apple Design Awards Winners
Ahead of WWDC 2025, Apple has announced the winners of its 2025 Design Awards, continuing its annual tradition of spotlighting apps and games that blend innovation, accessibility, and fun. The list spans six categories, with two winners in each: one app and one game.
Apple has revealed that this year’s winners were chosen from 36 finalists from around the world and they have all “demonstrated outstanding design experiences across apps and games.” From a language-learning app that turns real-world objects into flashcards to a fishing horror game, this year’s picks are as quirky as they are impressive. Here’s the full list of winners for 2025 Apple Design Awards.
Delight and Fun
CapWords (App) – Made by China’s HappyPlan Tech, this language-learning app took the top spot for delight and fun. It uses your camera to turn everyday objects, like coffee mugs or traffic cones, into sticker-style flashcards.
Balatro (Game) – A mix of poker and solitaire alongside roguelike deck-builder elements, it’s all about crafting powerful poker hands in the gripping gameplay, which is said to challenge players to advance their scores by “crafting original decks to beat devious blinds and secure victory.”
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Inclusivity
Speechify (App) – This U.S.-made text-to-speech app scooped the Inclusivity award for making written content (from PDFs to websites) accessible in over 50 languages. It also supports VoiceOver and Dynamic Type, among other accessibility tools to serve as a vital resource for people with dyslexia, ADHD, and low vision.
Art of Fauna (Game) – It is a charming wildlife puzzle game where you piece together visuals or rearrange text clues. Built with accessibility in mind, it supports features like haptic feedback and VoiceOver to show how inclusive design can be both thoughtful and engaging.
Innovation
Play (App) – A SwiftUI-based prototyping tool that helps designers build native iOS apps directly on their devices and send them to Xcode. Designed by Rabbit 3 Times, Apple describes its UI as “thoroughly crafted” and “easy to navigate.”
PBJ — The Musical (Game) – It tells the story of Romeo and Juliet with condiments. The game mixes rhythm-based gameplay with narrative storytelling, while featuring a “wonderful soundtrack.”
Interaction
Taobao for Apple Vision Pro (App) – Alibaba’s popular shopping platform got a spatial computing upgrade. Think life-sized 3D product models and customizable item comparisons from placement to size, tailored for Vision Pro users.
Dredge (Game) – It is a fishing adventure turned psychological horror game made by Black Salt Games. It starts with taking the helm of a fishing boat and escalates into navigating eerie islands, uncovering strange wildlife, and piecing together a haunting mystery.
Social Impact
Watch Duty: Wildfire Maps (App) – It allows real-time wildfire alerts submitted by the public, verified by pros. This app became a critical info source during California’s recent San Diego County fires.
Neva (Game) – This game offers a side-scrolling journey through a decaying world, as a girl and her wolf navigate shifting seasons. It features themes of friendship and leadership, allowing players to guide the pair through “breathtaking landscapes, and a story that is as moving as it is timely.”
Visuals and Graphics
Feather: Draw in 3D (App) – A 3D drawing app by Sketchsoft for the iPad, it turns your 2D sketches into immersive 3D art and makes full use of Apple Pencil features.
Infinity Nikki (Game) – Apple describes it as a “true visual achievement,” thanks to Infinity Nikki’s enchanted realm of colour, detail, and rendering. It is packed with magical outfits, whimsical creatures, and unexpected moments.
