Periscope Named Apple's App of the Year in Best of 2015 Charts

Wednesday December 9, 2015 7:04 am PST by Joe Rossignol

Apple has published its annual Best of 2015 charts for the App Store, iTunes and iBooks Store, naming live video platform Periscope its App of the Year and Tomb Raider puzzler spinoff Lara Croft GO its Game of the Year.

App-Store-Best-of-2015
Enlight and Robinhood were selected as runner-ups for App of the Year, while strategy game Fallout Shelter and one-touch platformer Mr Jump finished second and third place respectively in the Game of the Year standings.

Popular automation app Workflow was deemed the "most innovative" app in 2015, while Dark Echo was awarded the same title in the gaming category. Instagram earned "Best App on iPhone 6s" and Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade won "Best Game on iPhone 6s."

Apple's Top 25 Apps of 2015

1. Periscope
2. Enlight
3. Robinhood
4. Workflow
5. Instagram
6. HBO NOW
7. Hopper
8. Darkroom
9. Lark
10. The Everything Machine
11. Pacemaker
12. Tandem
13. Jet
14. Timeline
15. Vee for Video
16. Fit Men Cook
17. Spark
18. RefME
19. Wildcard
20. Paper by FiftyThree
21. GIPHY CAM
22. PRY
23. Reuters TV
24. Zova
25. Blue Apron

Apple's Top 25 Games of 2015

1. Lara Croft GO
2. Fallout Shelter
3. Mr Jump
4. Dark Echo
5. Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade
6. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
7. Vainglory
8. Dungeon Boss
9. Puzzle Craft 2
10. PAC-MAN 256
11. You Must Build A Boat
12. AG Drive
13. MARVEL Contest of Champions
14. Horizon Chase - World Tour
15. Shadowmatic
16. Wonky Ship
17. Super Sharp
18. Last Voyage
19. Ski Safari 2
20. Downwell
21. Rayman Adventures
22. Afterpulse
23. Psych! Outwit Your Friends
24. HoPiKo
25. Blades of Brim

The top five paid iOS apps in 2015 were Heads Up! Games, Minecraft: Pocket Edition, Trivia Crack (Ad Free), Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and Facetune, while the top five free titles were Trivia Crack, Facebook Messenger, Dubsmash, Instagram and Snapchat.

Clash of Clans was the top grossing app in 2015, followed by Game of War - Fire Age, Candy Crush Saga, Pandora and Candy Crush Soda Saga. The full top charts are available on the App Store on iOS and iTunes on Mac.

Apple also named Max Max: Fury Road, Amy, Inside Out and Dope among its Best of 2015 movies, while Mr. Robot, Fargo, UnREAL and Inside Amy Schumer won Best of 2015 awards for TV shows. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara was Apple's favorite fiction book on the year.

All selections were made by Apple's editorial curation team.

Tags: App Store, Best of 2015, iBooks, iTunes, Periscope

Related Forum: Mac Apps

Popular Stories

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...

• 110 comments

iOS 26.1 Beta 4 Lets Users Control Liquid Glass Transparency with New Toggle

Monday October 20, 2025 10:57 am PDT by Juli Clover

With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass. The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...

• 206 comments

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...

• 353 comments

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...

• 48 comments

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...

• 100 comments

Here's How the iOS 26.1 Transparency Toggle Changes Liquid Glass

Monday October 20, 2025 1:55 pm PDT by Juli Clover

With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...

• 150 comments

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...

• 94 comments

What's New in iOS 26.1 Beta 4

Monday October 20, 2025 1:02 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below. Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...

• 34 comments

Kohler Launches $600 iPhone-Connected Toilet Camera That Monitors Your Health Through Waste Analysis

Monday October 20, 2025 1:42 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Kohler is expanding its line of bathroom products with Dekoda, an iPhone-connected device that's designed to be attached to a toilet rim (via The Verge). The device's included "sensors" point into the toilet bowl, allowing it to analyze what goes on in the bathroom. According to Kohler, Dekoda is a health tracker that can monitor gut health and hydration, as well as detect the presence of...

• 188 comments

Top Rated Comments

H2SO4

129 months ago

I wonder if it says anything about me that I don’t have a single app from any of those lists…...

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

MikBe

129 months ago

Periscope shouldn't have won anything except a slap upside the head for the idiotic portrait filming.
TURN! YOUR! CAMERA! SIDEWAYS!

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

DotCom2

129 months ago

Periscope is interesting but I'm not sure I'd call it the best app of 2015, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was the most popular/most downloaded on the App Store so that might have influenced Apple's choice.

I however wouldn't pick it as the best app of 2015 based simply on one factor - it's SO annoying!
I'm always getting notifications from everyone I follow and I have to "mute for 3 hours" constantly since I usually don't feel like watching a Periscope stream at the moment! :p

You do know that you can turn off notifications individually for the most prolific broadcasters, or all if you want, don't you?
Click on the little bell icon by the broadcasters name and you won't get the notification sound. This way, you can still watch their broadcast at anytime you so desire.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

macintologist

129 months ago

Periscope is pretty neat. I like tuning in to a local TV news Periscope behind the scenes.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)