Best Mac Apps 2016

Best Mac Apps 2018
Best Mac Apps 2019

Apple has unveiled its Best of 2016 lists, celebrating the most popular apps, music, movies, TV shows, books and podcasts across the App Store, iTunes, Apple Music and iBooks.

The 50 Best Mac Apps. Whether you're a Mac newcomer or seasoned veteran, these 50 apps will make your OS X experience more fun and productive. By Jeffrey L. February 20, 2013. Dec 30, 2016.

Showcasing editorial selections and top-selling and most downloaded charts, Apple’s Best of 2016 highlights the talented artists, storytellers and developers who are entertaining Apple customers around the world.

On Apple Music, Drake dominates the top song and album spots with “One Dance” and Views, respectively, while the Hamilton soundtrack is also a top-selling album. The Chainsmokers have two of the top 10 songs this year, and music fans still can’t get enough of Adele’s 25, Rihanna’s ANTI and Frank Ocean’s Blonde. The Beats 1 team will be counting down the biggest songs on the station in 2016 with a special Best of Beats 1 show on December 7. The Best of Beats 1 playlist will also be available on Apple Music and feature Christine And The Queens, Kiiara, The 1975, Kanye West, Solange, The Weeknd, DJ Khaled and more.

App Store editors reveal their App of the Year picks for 2016, including Prisma for iPhone, Sketchbook Motion for iPad, Twitter for Apple TV, MySwimPro – Personal Swim Trainer for Apple Watch and Bear for Mac. Game of the Year selections include Clash Royale for iPhone, Severed for iPad, Riptide GP: Renegade for Apple TV, Field Day for Apple Watch and Life Is Strange for Mac.

Snapchat is the most downloaded free iPhone app, while the craze of the summer, Pokémon GO, unsurprisingly lands on both the iPhone and iPad charts. The top paid iPhone apps cover a range of categories, with FaceTune, Heads Up!, 7 Minute Workout Challenge, KIMOJI, Geometry Dash and Face Swap Live among the top 10. Minecraft: Pocket Edition is the most downloaded paid iPad app, while YouTube is the top free iPad app.

The editors of iTunes Movies recognize inventive films like La La Land, Moonlight and Sing Street, and the top-selling charts feature huge blockbuster hits to buzzworthy indie titles, from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Deadpool to Spotlight and The Hateful Eight.

iTunes TV’s top editorial picks include groundbreaking shows like Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and Atlanta, while longtime TV favorites Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Downton Abbey are top sellers.

Podcasts hit an impressive milestone in 2016: globally, Apple listeners consumed over 10 billion downloads and streams over the past 12 months via iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and desktop. Fresh Air from NPR is the top downloaded podcast of the year.

This year’s editorial selections on iBooks include powerful titles, such as Homegoing, Evicted, Born to Run and If I Was Your Girl. The Girl on the Train is the top-seller in fiction and audiobooks, while readers continue to be moved by When Breath Becomes Air, the best-selling nonfiction title.

Overall, the Best of 2016 spotlights the fan-favorite entertainment that Apple customers couldn't get enough of this year, while also celebrating the breadth and depth of creativity across the App Store, iTunes and iBooks.

Photos of Apple’s Best of 2016

Press Contacts

Stephanie Saffer

Apple

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Bernadette Simpao

Apple

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Apple Media Helpline

Best Mac Apps 2018

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Mac apps have been around for decades. They've included the giants of the industry like Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop, the best of the best of indie software developers like Bungie and Omni Group, and of course Apple's own apps like iWork and iLife, and pro apps like Final Cut, Logic, and Aperture. Traditionally they were sold on floppy disks and later CDs and DVDs. Now we're in the age of downloads. Traditionally they were sold on a company by company basis. Now we're in the age of the Mac App Store. All that history, all that diversity, all that power can make Mac apps even more complicated to choose between. There aren't as many Mac apps as there are iOS apps, but there's just as much variety and maybe more. If you're new to the Mac, how do you figure out which OS X apps you need to download immediately? If you're a seasoned Mac pro but are looking for something specific for work or for play, for school or for fun, how do you know which app is the very best?

In short — you look here. Based on years of experience and countless tests and comparisons, these are the apps and games we consider must-haves and recommend you download now. These are the best apps for the Mac.

Best Mac Apps 2019

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