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Apple crowns the best games, apps and artists of 2018

Fortnite wins as the top free mobile game. Drake reigns as best artist.

Marrian Zhou Staff Reporter
Marrian Zhou is a Beijing-born Californian living in New York City. She joined CNET as a staff reporter upon graduation from Columbia Journalism School. When Marrian is not reporting, she is probably binge watching, playing saxophone or eating hot pot.
Marrian Zhou
3 min read
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Fortnite. 

Epic Games

Apple named its favorite and most-popular apps for 2018.

Donut Country and Gorogoa, both games published by Ananpurna Interactive, were chosen as the best iPhone and iPad games of the year by editors at the consumer technology giant. 

Separate from games, Procreate Pocket, a drawing app by Savage Interactive, and Froggipedia, a biology app by Designmate, were chosen as best iPhone and iPad apps of the year. 

The lists of top free apps for both the iPhone and iPad were crowded with social media offerings. Both lists included YouTube, Messenger and Facebook, though in different positions. The top free game app for both iPhone and iPad was, unsurprisingly, Fortnite, a blockbuster battle game.

The editors at Apple, which unveiled the list Monday night, also chose Drake as the artist of the year and Cardi B's I Like It as song of the year.

Apple also chose best apps and games for its specific devices. Alto's Odyssey was named Best Apple TV Game of 2018, Pixelmator Pro for Best Mac App and The Gardens Between as Best Mac Game.

An abbreviated list of the winners can be found below. The full list, which includes podcasts, videos and books, is available here.

Best Apps of 2018 -- Editorial selections
iPhone App of the year -- Procreate Pocket
iPhone Game of the year -- Donut County 
iPad App of the year -- Froggipedia
iPad Game of the year -- Gorogoa 
Mac App of the year -- Pixelmator Pro
Mac Game of the year -- The Gardens Between 
Apple TV App of the year -- Sweat 
Apple TV Game of the year -- Alto's Odyssey 
Favorite Apple Watch Apps of the year -- Editorial selections
WaterMinder
Lifesum
10% Happier
Carrot Weather
FunGolf GPS
Swing Tennis Tracker
Slopes
App in the Air
Overcast
Just Press Record
Top Free iPhone Apps -- Chart
YouTube
Snapchat
Messenger
Facebook
Bitmoji
Netflix
Google Maps
Gmail
Spotify Music

Top Paid iPhone Apps -- Chart
Facetune
Kirakira+
Dark Sky Weather
HotSchedules
PlantSnap Plant Identification
AutoSleep Tracker for Watch
Sky Guide
1 Second Everyday: Video Diary
The Wonder Weeks
Afterlight 2

Top Free iPhone Games -- Chart
Fortnite
Helix Jump
Rise Up
PUBG Mobile
Hole.io
Love Balls
Snake VS Block
Rules of Survival
Roblox
Dune

Top Paid iPhone Games -- Chart
Heads Up
Minecraf
Plague Inc.
Bloons TD 6
Pocket Build
Bloons TD 5
Geometry Dash
The Game of Life
Papa's Freezeria To Go
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Top Free iPad Apps -- Chart
YouTube
Netflix
Messenger
Facebook
Amazon Prime Video
Google Chrome
Gmail
YouTube Kids
The Calculator
Amazon

Top Paid iPad Apps -- Chart
Procreate
Notability
GoodNotes 4
Toca Life: Pets
Duet Display
Toca Life: After School
XtraMath
Toca Hair Salon 3
MyScript Nebo
Toca Kitchen 2

Top Free iPad Games -- Chart
Fortnite
Roblox
Kick the Buddy
Love Balls
Helix Jump
Color by Number Coloring Game
Bowmasters -- Multiplayer Game
Hole.io
Rise Up
Rules of Survival

Top Paid iPad Games -- Chart 
Minecraft
Geometry Dash
The Game of Life
The Room: Old Sins
Heads Up
Bloons TD 6
Goat Simulator
Five Nights at Freddy's
Lego Jurassic World
Terraria

Apple Music
Best Music of 2018 -- Editorial selections
Artist of the year: Drake
Breakout Artist of the Year: Juice WRLD
Song of the Year: I Like It - Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny & J. Balvin
Album of the Year: Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves