Apple's App Store Award 2023 winners are the best of the best from its ecosystem, showcasing creativity, exploration, and culture change These 14 award winners were chosen from nearly 40 finalists by the App Store editorial team

Showcasing the best apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Mac, the App Store Award winners are defined not by downloads or revenue, but by ingenuity, creativity, and design efforts Tim Cook, in a statement honoring the winners, said, "This year's winners represent the limitless potential of developers to bring their vision to life by creating apps and games with incredible ingenuity, exceptional quality, and a purpose-driven mission"

We had the opportunity to check out some of the winning entries in person at Apple's event honoring the top apps of the year And as Apple suggested, the winners did not disappoint and surprised us with their depth From the colorful animation of this year's Best App Store Game to the amazing creativity of one of the cultural impact winners, here are our favorite winners

of Apple's outstanding App Store Awards that we were able to check out One of the 2023 winners is AllTrails, an app that helps users explore and find trails in the great outdoors, sort of a mashup of Google Maps and Yelp, with a guided map view and reviews and actual photos of people checking out the trails The site includes

AllTrails has a handy filter tool that helps you find the perfect trail, whether it's a pet-friendly trail or a biking trail, etc There is a huge community behind AllTrails, which adds to the depth of the app

I didn't think Mac games could get any better than PC games, but "Lies of P" is an example of how things are changing

Based on the popular Pinocchio story but in a darker style, "Lies of P" puts players in control of a character exploring a city shrouded in darkness and battling eerie enemies The game is notable for its ferocious action and stunning graphics, something that seemed impossible on the Mac However, all the intensive graphic animation of the attack scenes makes the game compelling to play on a Mac

Of all the winning entries we were able to see in person, "Finding Hannah" was the most original That's because of the fulfilling value of having to use skill to find objects in this colorful looking hidden object game

Even considering that it is a great memory game for all ages, one can see how this could be beneficial for older adults with memory impairments In addition, the catchy art style, multiple period scenes, and diverse characters have earned it an Apple Cultural Impact Award