2022 APP STORE AWARDS
iPhone App of the Year
BeReal. Your friends for real.
Not another social network.
The cultural phenomenon BeReal transformed our most mundane moments into meaningful connection.
– App Store Editors
We had a new favourite part of our day this year: getting notified it was “Time to BeReal”.
It was a chance to glimpse – along with millions of others around the world – what the people we care most about were experiencing, all at the same time.
A big part of BeReal’s fun is never knowing when the daily notification will arrive. It’s caught us lazing in bed, about to dig into our lunch and daydreaming at our desk. One arrived while we were on our way to a show we’d scored amazing seats to – and we didn’t even mind that we had to post before we got there.
The act of being real is simple: snap two pics simultaneously – one from your iPhone’s front-facing camera, the other from the rear-facing. Then you have two minutes to send it to your select group of friends, no filters or editing allowed. And refreshingly BeReal doesn’t do “like” counts.
Those simple rules distinguish BeReal from any other social or photo-sharing app – and actually helped us see our friends in new ways. We discovered surprising things in common – a mutual love of Lego or our go-to coffee shop. We saw parts of their lives for the first time, such as super-shy pets or incredibly organised (or is it messy?) home offices. We even started to feel comfortable posting unflattering selfies. That’s being real, right?
BeReal was at its most magical for us when it happened to capture weddings or other life events. Each unplanned photo, caught from a different perspective, stitched together a new kind of experience, challenging the all-too-common notion that only the most glamorous moments in our lives are worth sharing.
Read more about the 2022 winners
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
iPad App of the Year
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
iPad Game of the Year
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
Apple Watch App of the Year
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
Mac App of the Year
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
Mac Game of the Year
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
Apple Arcade Game of the Year
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
Apple TV Game of the Year
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
Cultural Impact winner
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
Cultural Impact winner
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
Cultural Impact winner
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
Cultural Impact winner
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2022 APP STORE AWARDS
Cultural Impact winner
Our favourite feature
How you're encouraged to share your actual reaction to friends’ posts. Simply snap a selfie in the moment and send it back. You could also send an emoji (or a selfie of yourself mimicking an emoji), but like everything else in the app, your reactions are most fun when you’re just being yourself.
Meet the creator
BeReal’s French founders, Alexis Barreyat and Kévin Perreau, released the app in 2020; it soared to new heights in 2022 as its community grew from thousands to millions – thanks, in part, to a passionate Gen Z fan base. The BeReal team have opted to let the app catch on entirely through word of mouth.
2022 App Store Award winners
AllTrails: Hike, Run & Walk
GPS Hiking, Cycling Trail Maps
Duolingo - Languages & More
Learn Spanish, French, German
Flighty – Live Flight Tracker
World's Fastest Delay Alerts
Afterplace
Explore a world of secrets.
Honkai: Star Rail
A Space Fantasy RPG
Vampire Survivors
Roguelike survival pixel RPG
Concepts
Sketch, note & draw infinitely
DaVinci Resolve for iPad
Hollywood’s edit & color tools
Prêt-à-Makeup
Digital Face Chart
Lost in Play
Games
Pocket City 2
Build and explore your city!
Linearity Curve Graphic Design
Vectornator: Vector & Logo Art
Photomator
Your photo editing powerhouse
Portal - Immersive Escapes
Change Your Surroundings
ELEX II
Games
Lies of P
Deception Shatters Innocence
Return to Monkey Island™
Ahoy! Adventure Awaits!
Apple Arcade
Cityscapes: Sim Builder
Build the best cities!
Apple Arcade
Hello Kitty Island Adventure
Island adventures await!
Apple Arcade
stitch.
Stitch it up to puzzle out