Apple names its most popular apps for 2014

Technology giant Apple named its favourite apps of the year earlier this week, with Elevate making the top of the list. The winning app, which offers games that help users improve cognition and memory, was somewhat of a surprise winner – up against the likes of Instagram, news feed apps, and photo-editing applications. Indeed, the runner-up was Instagram’s Hyperlapse which speeds up videos and turns them into time lapses in two simple taps.

There are two main categories in Apple’s ‘Best Of’ apps lists – “Best Apps” and “Best Games”. The former’s top ten also included Yahoo News Digest, Facebook’s Paper and the SwiftKey Keyboard app. Even car hire company Uber has made the grade, thanks to nifty aspects such as “God view” which allows users to see all Ubers in any given city and the silhouettes and locations of people who have flagged cars (naturally that app has also caused a fuss).

Surprisingly topping the “Best Games” list was the simplest of gaming apps, Threes! (exclamation mark apparently imperative) which has been described as “addictive puzzle game even for people who hate puzzle games”. A host of battle-themed games also made it into the top ten including Battleheart Legacy, World of Warriors, and XCOM: Enemy Within.   Antonino Tati