148Apps 2013 wrAPP-Up - It's Been A Great Year for Apps

2013 has been a great year for apps. We've seen both an explosion of productivity apps and a great number of new deeper games. While King and Supercell owned the top grossing charts, hundreds of other apps found place of prominence on the App Store and in our daily lives. As the year winds down, the writers here at 148Apps are taking a look back at the year in apps including what we liked and how we used them to change our lives.

Some Staff Favorite Apps and Games

2013-12-26 - 148Apps’ Staff Discusses Their Favorite Underappreciated Games - It’s easy to list off the best games of 2013, and often such lists contain a lot of crosstalk between different publications. So this year, instead of just giving off another similar list of the best games of the year, our staff has decided to talk about their favorite games of the year that might not have been the best sellers or the most popular. In no particular order, this is our list of some of our favorite under-appreciated games of 2013.

2013-12-27 - Online multiplayer gaming for iOS has come into its own over the years, however it's not all about playing against random strangers over the internet. Campbell Bird takes a moment to highlight the Top 10 Local Multiplayer Games (mostly) from 2013, and the entries are definitely worth a look.

2013-12-27 - With the increased number of young children getting their hands on iOS devices, it's only natural to want to call out some notable software that caters to a younger audience. Amy Solomon goes one better and provides a list of Noteworthy Children's Apps that will entertain, and give worn-out parents a few minutes of peace in an otherwise busy day.

2013-12-30 - Andrew Stevens, on the other hand, recently rediscovered arcade/action games on iOS. Specifically of the shooter and musical variety. Check out his List of Favorite SHMUPS and Rhythm Games, and feel free to weigh in with your own favorites.

2013-12-30 - Minecraft has become a genre all its own at this point. Well it's faster than saying "open-world sandbox adventure game," anyway. That's why Rob Rich went and picked out some of 2013's best in his selection of The Year’s Best Minecraftlikes.

2014-1-1 - It's been interesting to watch as iOS developers become more comfortable with the platform and begin to play around with an assortment of mechanics and concepts we probably couldn't see anywhere else. Lucy Ingram agrees, and has put together a list of The Most Distinct Apps and Games of the Year; apps and games that really stand-out in terms of presentation, functionality, interfaces, and more.

2014-1-1 - 148Apps’ Staff Discusses Their Favorite Under-Appreciated Apps of the Year - Just as they did a few days prior, the 148Apps staff takes a look at some of there favorite iOS releases that didn't necessarily get much attention throughout the year. This time they call out their favorite apps that you may have missed in the deluge of 2013 releases.

The "App Ecosystem" in 2013 was strong

2013-12-27 - Arron Hirst takes a look at the year for Apple. Highs and lows, staff changes, new products, and more. "It’s pretty fair to say that 2013 has been an incredible year for Apple. With the company’s stock price currently reflecting upwards of $550 a share, it’s clear that investors have renewed faith in the firm’s ability to deliver on its mission to create some of the world’s most desirable products."

2013-12-27 - With so many weekly releases on the App Store, we're bound to be some exceptional apps and games. It's the Law of Averages, really. Chris Kirby takes stock of some of our Highest Rated Apps and Games of 2013, and it's a fairly robust mix.

2013-12-30 - This year also saw a number of releases that embraced the iOS platform rather than trying to rely on more conventional mechanics adapted for touch screens. Jennifer Allen highlights many of The App Store’s Experimental Gaming Gems of the Year, which makes for quite an impressive collection of atypical games.

2013-12-31 - Lee Hamlet takes a moment to reflect on the state of digital comics and the iPad when he analyzes The Dynamic Duo of Digital Comics and iOS. It's been an interesting year for comics from major and minor publishers alike, and it looks as though their presence on tablets is only going to get stronger.

2013-12-31 - The App Store had a big year in 2013. Carter Dotson explains Why Candy Crush Saga was the Biggest Game of the Year, and what sort of impact it might have on the App Store in the future. If nothing else, it's made a ridiculous amount of money.

2014-1-1 - 2013 was a good year for many developers, but perhaps none so much as Simogo. Carter Dotson examines the unlikely duo of Year Walk and Device 6, and explains why they're so significant. Aside from just being awesome, of course.

2014-1-1 - What better way to close out our look back at 2013 than with an actual look back at 2013? Chris Kirby highlights a few of 148Apps' developer spotlights, hardware reviews, and videos of Carter Dotson squaring off against developers in their own games. Our conclusion? It was definitely a good year.

How We Use Apps

2013-12-26 - Documenting Your Year With iOS Photography Apps - For the past two years Jennifer Allen has been recording her with photographs. Every day, she's taken a photograph with her iPhone before sharing it via Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let's take a look at how and why she does it.

2013-12-30 - How I Used Apps to Help Me Launch and Run My Small Business - Angela LaFollette isn't just a writer for 148Apps; she's also the owner and operator of her own embroidery business. Want to see how she's incorporated a number of iPhone and iPad apps into all of it? Read on!

2013-12-31 - Happy New Year’s Resolution: Fitness Apps for All! - Many, many people ring in the New Year with resolutions, and a lot of those resolutions involve getting into shape or trying to be healthier. Stacy Barnes takes the idea and runs with it (fitness jokes, ha!), giving you a selection of get-in-shape apps from 2013 to get you in the exercising mood.

2013-12-31 - How My Grandmother Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Going Mobile - Just how viable is an iPad (and iOS in general) as an alternative to home computing? Mike Deneen sheds some light on the subject as he chronicles his elderly grandmother's transition from a personal computer to an iPad.

Thoughts on iOS as a Gaming Platform

2013-12-26 - While free to play games grabbed all the headlines, Carter Dotson recaps why core games had such a great year on iOS. "Think mobile is all about free-to-play and casual? Then you haven't played these games."

2013-12-26 - Editor Rob Rich weighs in on the remarkable number of quality ports of games to iOS in the last year. He remarks, "as I began to think back on the year one major theme kept popping into my head: the increased power of mobile hardware and the way it’s been used to create some truly impressive adaptations of games from other platforms."

Year End App and Game Sales

Updated 2013-12-26 - The Big List: Annual Christmas App Sale on iPhone and iPad Games is Now On! - The annual Christmas sale is on -- expect hundreds of iPhone and iPad games and apps to go on sale. We've got the big list of the best of the best right here.