The apps of the year: BeReal, the anti-social network, is the favorite of 2022
From Dream by WOMBO to The Stigma, these are the most popular applications of the last 12 months
Last year consolidated Facebook’s fall from grace, TikTok’s popularity and the BeReal revolution. The fact that the latter became the iPhone app of the year in the Apple App Store, as well as the Android users’ choice, is no coincidence: it emerged as a much-needed anti-social network, a response to the weariness of Instagram’s endless torrent of poses and filters. Even TikTok tried to follow BeReal’s trend by launching TikTok Now in September. It even offered users commissions to download it in an attempt to face the unstoppable advance of its competitor.
However, while BeReal topped the charts in the App Store and was named its best application of 2022, this was not the case of the Google Play Store, where the best overall app was Dream by WOMBO, which can create images and art with the help of artificial intelligence. Still, BeReal remains that platform users’ choice.
In the iPhone ecosystem, 2022 was dominated by social media and streaming services: WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram and Telegram joined BeReal as the most downloaded platforms, while HBO Max, Netflix, Spotify and YouTube were the people’s favorites to enjoy series, movies, music and videos. Google’s services were also popular, particularly Maps, the search engine itself, Gmail and Drive.
After taking stock of the last 12 months, Apple rewarded various developers for the cultural impact of their applications: from one that seeks to assist users with their emotional well-being, helping them identify their feelings, to another that offers reminders, challenges and goals to encourage users to drink water throughout the day.
Google also recognized a few wellness applications, like The STIGMA, which aims to normalize conversations about mental health; Breathwrk, for breathing exercises; Recover Athletics, which is focused on the recovery of athletes; DanceFitme, which offers exercise routines; and Gym Log & Workouts.
Regarding games, the best of the year for both Android and iOS was Apex Legends Mobile – chosen by both users and companies – which features the classic immersive universe of battles, strategy and shootouts. Google also recognized Dislyte, an urban mythological role-playing title, and Papers, Please for its dystopian document story.
Among the most downloaded on iPhone were Hay Day, Subway Surfers, Among Us!, Trivia Crack and Candy Crush Saga, as well as classics like Minecraft, Pou and Monopoly. Stumble Guys, a multiplayer elimination game in which up to 32 users can compete, also proved to be quite popular, both for iOS and Android. And, following the World Cup, the official FIFA game also became part of the top downloads at the Google Play Store.
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