Greetings and welcome to another edition of This Week in Apps, TechCrunch’s regular feature providing an update on the newest developments in mobile operating systems, mobile applications, and the broader app marketplace.

The mobile app sector continues to thrive, achieving an impressive 204 billion downloads and $120 billion in direct consumer expenditure during 2019. Currently, individuals dedicate an average of three hours and forty minutes daily to app usage, a figure comparable to time spent watching television. Apps have evolved beyond simple entertainment; they represent a significant commercial force. In 2019, businesses prioritizing a mobile-first strategy collectively reached a valuation of $544 billion, which is 6.5 times greater than companies lacking that emphasis.

This past week saw both Apple and Google publish their official selections of the year’s standout apps, with Apple additionally disclosing the most frequently downloaded titles. Apple also announced a key addition to its App Store team and launched its long-awaited App Store Small Business Program for developers.

Top Stories

Best Apps of the Year

Apple and Google both published their lists of top apps for 2020, revealing both common selections and distinct choices. The lists from both companies mirrored the challenging circumstances of 2020, a year where widespread stay-at-home orders dramatically altered how people worked, learned, stayed connected, and found entertainment.

Consequently, both Apple and Google highlighted at least one application designed to promote relaxation among their year-end selections. Apple recognized Endel, an iOS app, as the Apple Watch App of the Year. Google, on the other hand, designated Loóna, a sleep application, as the best app of the year.

Disney+ appeared on both Apple’s and Google’s lists, earning the title of Apple TV App of the Year and the User’s Choice award, respectively. The streaming service proved invaluable for families with young children who faced difficulties keeping them entertained throughout 2020. New releases such as Onward and Mulan provided anticipated content, while popular Marvel and Star Wars series, including “The Mandalorian,” attracted a large audience.

Zoom also received recognition as the iPad App of the Year, a selection driven by the pandemic’s impact. While Zoom existed prior to the coronavirus outbreak, it has become synonymous with “online video meeting” – frequently used as a verb, such as “let’s have a Zoom call.” The iPad app helped make these frequent virtual interactions more manageable.

Wakeout!, an app designed to encourage home workouts, was named Apple’s iPhone app of the year, as many individuals avoided gyms due to health concerns. The app’s brief, one-minute activity breaks enabled users to remain active, even while confined to their homes or working from bed.

Genshin Impact, a gacha-based action role-playing game, was chosen as “best game” on both Apple’s and Google’s lists. While some suggest this choice was influenced by the game’s substantial revenue – reportedly earning $245 million in its first month and nearly $400 million within two months on mobile – it also reflects a consumer desire for mobile experiences comparable to those found on gaming consoles.

However, the game has faced criticism for its monetization practices, common in games originating from China, Japan, and South Korea, which resemble gambling mechanics and can be addictive. As a Wired report indicated, these practices are partly rooted in cultural differences. Users in the U.S. grew up with traditional cartridge games, not arcade games requiring continuous payment to continue playing, and are less accepting of this “spend to keep playing” model, which they perceive as exploitative.

Apple’s additional top apps of the year included Fantastical as the Mac App of the Year; Legends of Runeterra as the iPad Game of the Year; Disco Elysium as the Mac Game of the Year; Dandara Trials of Fear as the Apple TV Game of the Year; and Sneaky Sasquatch as the Apple Arcade Game of the Year.

Google’s list also featured SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off as the User’s Choice for best game, and it showcased a variety of leading titles across different gaming genres within a dedicated section of its Play Store.

2020’s most downloaded apps

Apple also shared insights into the “best” apps of the year based on download numbers. The pandemic also played a role in these rankings, with Zoom being the most-downloaded iPhone app of 2020.

Notably, TikTok emerged as the most popular social media app by downloads, surpassing all Facebook-owned apps on the list, including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. Square’s Cash App secured the No. 10 spot, reflecting increased demand for contactless payments and direct financial assistance during the pandemic.

The most-downloaded apps and games of 2020 were as follows:

Top Free iPhone Apps

1. ZOOM Cloud Meetings
2. TikTok
3. Disney+
4. YouTube
5. Instagram
6. Facebook
7. Snapchat
8. Messenger
9. Gmail
10. Cash App

Top Paid iPhone Apps

1. TouchRetouch
2. Procreate Pocket
3. Dark Sky Weather
4. Facetune
5. HotSchedules
6. AutoSleep Track Sleep
7. The Wonder Weeks
8. SkyView
9. Shadowrocket
10. Sky Guide

Top Free iPhone Games

1. Among Us!
2. Call of Duty: Mobile
3. Roblox
4. Subway Surfers
5. Ink Inc. – Tattoo Drawing
6. Magic Tiles 3: Piano Game
7. Brain Test: Tricky Puzzles
8. Brain Out
9. Coin Master
10. Cube Surfer!

Top Paid iPhone Games

1. Minecraft
2. Plague Inc.
3. Heads Up!
4. Monopoly
5. Bloons TD6
6. Geometry Dash
7. NBA 2K20
8. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
9. The Game of Life
10. True Skate

Top Free iPad Apps

1. ZOOM Cloud Meetings
2. Disney+
3. YouTube
4. Netflix
5. Google Chrome
6. TikTok
7. Amazon Prime Video
8. Gmail
9. Hulu
10. Google Classroom

Top Paid iPad Apps

1. Procreate
2. GoodNotes 5
3. Notability
4. Duet Display
5. Teach Your Monster
6. LumaFusion
7. Affinity Designer
8. Toca Hair Salon 3
   9: Toca Life: Hospital
9. Toca Kitchen 2

Top Free iPad Games

1. Among Us!
2. Roblox
3. Magic Tiles 3: Piano Game
4. Ink Inc. – Tattoo Drawing
5. Call of Duty: Mobile
6. Subway Surfers
7. Dancing Road: Color Ball Run!
8. Tiles Hop – EDM Rush
9. Mario Kart Tour
10. Save The Girl!

Top Paid iPad Games

1. Minecraft
2. Monopoly
3. Bloons TD 6
4. Plague Inc.
5. Geometry Dash
6. The Game of Life
7. Five Nights at Freddy’s
8. Human: Fall Flat
9. Stardew Valley
10. Terraria

Top Arcade Games

1. Sneaky Sasquatch
2. Hot Lava
3. Skate City
4. Sonic Racing
5. PAC-MAN Party Royale
6. SpongeBob: Patty Pursuit
7. Oceanhorn 2
8. Crossy Road Castle
9. WHAT THE GOLF?
10. LEGO Brawls

Josh Elman joins Apple to focus on App Store discovery 

Venture capitalist Josh Elman announced this week that he is joining Apple in a role focused on helping users “discover the best apps for them.” In essence, his focus will be on app discovery.

Elman’s experience includes positions at RealNetworks, LinkedIn, Zazzle, Facebook, and Twitter, and later transitioned into venture capital. He joined Greylock as a principal in 2011 and became a general partner by 2013. During his time there, he invested in SmartThings, as well as social networks like Musical.ly (now the popular No. 2 app of the year, TikTok), Nextdoor, Houseparty, and Discord. He subsequently moved to fast-growing fintech startup Robinhood and is now joining Apple.

Weekly News

Platforms

• Apple has opened enrollment for the App Store Small Business Program. This program will reduce App Store commissions to 15% for eligible developers with revenues under $1 million.
• Google announced that Android’s winter update will include an expanded Emoji Kitchen in Gboard, auto-narration for Google Play Books without narration, a “Go Tab” in Google Maps for frequently visited locations, Android Auto expansion to more countries, support for app sharing in Nearby Share, and improvements to Voice Access.
• Google launched the first version of Android Studio Arctic Fox (2020.3.1) on the Canary channel, along with Android Gradle plugin (AGP) version 7.0.0-alpha01. This release also marks a shift to a year-based system aligned with IntelliJ IDEA, the IDE upon which Android Studio is built. The numbering scheme will now follow this format: <Year of IntelliJ Version>.<IntelliJ major version>.<Studio major version>. The new version of Android Studio includes over 200 improvements and bug fixes across the code editor, app inspection tools, layout editor, and the embedded emulator.

Services

• Amazon now allows iOS users to text Alexa to request information or perform tasks instead of using voice commands.

Security & Privacy

• Twitter now supports hardware security keys for iPhones and Android devices.
• Google Authenticator app for iOS adds a dark theme and support for bulk 2FA account transfers, simplifying the process of switching between devices.
• Google launches Android Enterprise Essentials, an MDM for SMBs that requires employees to use a lock screen and encryption to protect company data and allows for remote device wiping. It also prevents installation of apps outside the Google Play Store through Google Play Protect.

Accessibility

• iPhones can now automatically recognize and label buttons and UI elements for visually impaired users using Screen Recognition in iOS 14.
• Android’s winter update, similarly, will introduce an updated version of Voice Access that utilizes machine learning to understand interface labels and buttons on devices.

Apps in the News

• Google now allows anyone to contribute to Google Maps’ Street View using the Street View app and an Android phone that supports ARCore.
• Telegram is the first third-party app to utilize Apple’s Announce Messages with Siri feature for AirPods.
• Google adds a feature to its Messages app allowing users to schedule message delivery, a function commonly found in iMessage.
• Reddit reveals DAUs for the first time: 52 million.
• Google Assistant can now respond to messages from WhatsApp, Google Voice and more.
• Google Maps gets a Facebook-like news feed with business updates, local reviews and more.
• TikTok tests three-minute long videos. (Though the need for longer versions of its viral hits remains debatable).
• Triller claims 321 million downloads and 65 million MAUs. (Former employees have alleged that the TikTok rival inflated these numbers, which Triller denies.)
• Evernote rolls out a redesign on Android. The updates include a new note editor, faster search and improved navigation.
• Google’s learn-to-code app Grasshopper is now available in Spanish.
• WhatsApp will now allow users to set custom wallpapers, adds doodle wallpaper in more colors and adds new stickers.
• E-commerce app Wish accused of selling counterfeit products. 
• 7-Eleven adds its own mobile wallet to its app to enable customers, including those using cash, to make contactless payments at its stores using their phone.
• Match-owned dating app Hinge refreshes its design and adds a “Standouts” feature to showcase outstanding prompts and photo prompts from potential matches, and introduces a new paid feature, Roses.
• Quibi is no longer available.

Trends

App download rates have decreased by 4% since 2015, but user engagement has grown.

Messaging app usage is up 13% (four-year CAGR), and users spend 67% more time in messaging apps than in social media apps.

Messaging apps that prioritize privacy features see, on average, 30% more active users than their counterparts.

Q3 smartphone sales declined 5.7% in Q3 to 366 million.

Mobile shopping increased 25% on Black Friday to $3.6 billion. 

U.S. shopping app downloads on Black Friday reached a record 2.8 million according to Sensor Tower, or 2.7 million per App Annie. App Annie also reported that shopping app downloads exceeded 2.3 million on Thanksgiving and 2.1 million on Cyber Monday.

On Black Friday, Walmart was the No. 1 U.S. shopping app download, followed by Amazon. On Cyber Monday, the order was reversed, as reported by App Annie.

In-app revenue was 150% higher on Black Friday than the average of the previous 30 days, according to AppsFlyer.

App Store and Google Play consumer spending surpassed $100 billion from January 1-November 29, as reported by Sensor Tower.

Funding and M&A

• Salesforce acquires Slack for $27.7 billion.
• VSCO acquires the technology and team from the AI-powered video editing app Trash to expand its presence in the video market. Deal terms were not disclosed, but Trash was backed by $3.3 million in funding.
• Teen banking app Step raises $50 million. The app received its first startup investment from TikTok star Charli D’Amelio. Other investors included lead investor Coatue, as well as returning investors from Stripe, Crosslink Capital, Collaborative Fund, and Will Smith’s Dreamers VC, along with celebrity investors D’Amelio, Justin Timberlake, and The Chainsmokers, Eli Manning, Kelvin Beachum, and Andre Iguodala.
• Ivanti acquired security firms, including enterprise mobile security firm MobileIron and corporate VPN provider Pulse Secure. Ivanti purchased MobileIron for $872 million in stock.
• U.K. challenger banking app Monzo adds £60 million in funding.
• AR gaming startup Krikey raises undisclosed funding, including from Jio Platforms. The company has raised $22 million to date.
• Wellory raises $4.5 million for its anti-diet nutrition app.
• Airbnb launched its IPO with shares priced between $44 and $50.
• ESL app for kids Novakid raises $4.25 million.
• Virtual fitness app Salut raises $1.25 million.
• Video app Supergreat, a TikTok for beauty products, raises $6.5 million.
• Mental health app Intellect raises an undisclosed round led by Insignia VP.

Review

We tested the Apple Watch Family Setup with a pre-teen. They were unimpressed with the apps and controls, but enjoyed the Memoji feature. No Roblox group chat on the small screen? A definite drawback.

Downloads

Iconboard

If you find creating custom icons with Apple’s Shortcuts too cumbersome, Iconboard offers an alternative. This newly launched app allows you to design a style for your icons and apply it to all of them simultaneously. It can even create invisible icons, providing a way to space out items on your screen.

Cardlet

While I’ve been pleased with Punkpost’s custom designs when I’m too busy to send handwritten notes and cards, Cardlet is ready to compete. Like Punkpost, Cardlet will send a real paper card on your behalf, but it adds a modern touch: the app includes an augmented reality experience that brings the card to life when viewed with a camera.

Heynote

Some individuals prefer not to rely on to-do lists, reminders, or calendar notifications to ensure tasks are completed. When something is particularly important, they display it directly on their home screen. (This may only appeal to a small group of users like myself.) But if you have previously created temporary wallpapers to avoid forgetting a critical appointment, the Android app Heynote (tip of the hat to Android Police!) might be helpful. Instead of a widget or reminder, this app lets you place custom text directly on your home screen as a custom wallpaper. Doctor appointment at 11 AM? You won’t forget it when it’s visible every time you look at your phone.