14 DAY TRIAL // 2014’s onslaught of apps made countless headlines. There’s no shortage of options for the end user, and we’re here to point you in the right direction so you can beef up your Apple gadgets with the best software available today.
While there were countless new entries this year, longstanding successes like Minecraft and Clash of Clans somehow continue to command their categories on the iOS front. On the Mac App Store, Apple is king when it comes to the software that rakes in the big bucks, as well as the most downloads. However, if you’re looking to spruce up that Home screen / Applications folder, there’s a lot more to be had this year.
Note: the listings presented here are representative of the US app stores, which generally speak the truth for the app stores in other countries.
Top iPhone apps
The most social app available in the App Store today is strangely not a social network. Instead, Heads Up! brings people together physically, for a game of mime that has the person in the spotlight guess the word appearing on the iPhone stuck to their forehead.
Minecraft - Pocket Edition comes second in this year’s Top Paid roundup, followed by Goat Simulator, Trivia Crack, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Five Nights at Freddy’s (boy, people sure love the idea of being a security guard!), Facetune, the Minecraft-inspired Terraria, as well as Leo’s Fortune and Toca Kitchen 2.
The Top Free Apps chart is headlined by Trivia Check, with Facebook Messenger falling behind to #2 as the runner-up. Tracking it closely is the official Facebook client for iPhones, followed in its footsteps by titles like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, iTunes U (really?), Pandora Radio, Looney Tunes Dash!, and ElfYourself by Office Depot.
Top Grossing continues to list Clash of Clans as the app raking in the most in-app purchases, and the lineup continues with Candy Crush Saga, Game of War - Fire Age, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Pandora Radio, Spotify Music, Big Fish Casino, Madden NFL Mobile, Hay Day, and the pocket edition of Minecraft.
Top iPad apps
The people at Mojang must be swimming in cash right about now. Their $6.99 / €5.99 pocket version of Minecraft remains the top paid app in the iPad App Store, tracked by Toca Kitchen 2, Heads Up!, Terraria, Goat Simulator, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Leo’s Fortune, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril.
The most downloaded Free iPad Apps are YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, SimCity BuildIt, Facebook Messenger, Looney Tunes Dash!, Trivia Crack, iTunes U, Candy Crush Soda Saga, and Coco Ice Princess.
Grossing matters too in the tablet realm. Customers this year invested the most in Candy Crush Saga, Game of War - Fire Age, Candy Crush Soda Saga, DoubleDown Casino, Hay Day, Big Fish Casino, Minecraft - Pocket Edition, GSN Casino, and Bingo Bash HD - Free Bingo Casino. In other words, people love to gamble from the comfort of their own homes.
Top OS X apps
Desktop users are downloading Apple’s GarageBand more times than any other paid app this year, but there is also a lot of interest in titles like Disk Doctor, The Sims 2: Super Collection, FaceTime, OS X Server, SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition, AntiVirus Sentinel Pro, Day One, Duplicate Detective, and DockPhone.
If you’re looking to get your fix without spending a dime, OS X Yosemite is the top downloaded “app” on the Mac App Store, but we have a hunch that most of you have already gone down that path. Leave Yosemite aside and you get the following top free apps this year: Kindle, Microsoft Remote Desktop, Xcode, Memory Clean, RAR Extractor Free, Full Deck Solitaire, Evernote, Fotor Photo Editor, and The Unarchiver.
Generating the most profits for their respective developers this year were Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro X, OS X Server, The Sims 2: Super Collection, djay Pro, 1Password, Compressor, Quicken 2015, Motion, and Civilization: Beyond Earth as the Top Grossing titles in 2014.
