Apple presents the best of 2018

As the year comes to a close there are so many unanswered questions: Who is Kiki, and does she love me? Should I start a podcast? Where is Donut County? Today, Apple reveals the Best Of 2018, a global collection of top charts and selects from our editors across every category highlighting all of the amazing things to watch, read, listen to and play across apps, music, podcasts, books, TV and movies. It’s an invariable list of the who’s who and what’s what from the past year that is certain to help answer at least some of the most burning questions and make for fun conversation around any holiday dinner table. 

This year, Battle Royale-style games like Fortnite and PUBG Mobile dominated global gaming culture with exciting, last-player-standing action, while innovative apps like Fabulous, Shine, 10% Happier and Headspace expanded the practice of wellness around the world to make self-care more accessible than ever before.

Best Apps of the Year

App Trend of the Year - Self-care
Game Trend of the Year - Battle Royale-style gaming
iPhone App of the Year - Procreate Pocket
iPhone Game of the Year - Donut County
iPad App of the Year - Froggipedia
iPad Game of the Year - Gorogoa
Mac App of the Year - Pixelmator Pro
Mac Game of the Year - The Gardens Between
Apple TV App of the Year - Sweat
Apple TV Game of the Year - Alto’s Odyssey
Favourite Watch Apps of the Year

Charts

iPhone users running iOS 11 and later will view iPhone charts below; iPad users running iOS 11 and later will view iPad charts. 

Top Apps Charts
Top Games Charts

To close out an extraordinary year, Apple Music’s editors have awarded highest honours to the artists who truly represent the very best of 2018. Drake owns the Artist of the Year category while country’s Kasey Musgraves scores Album of the Year for her dynamic Golden Hour. The fiery collaboration between Cardi B, J. Balvin and Bad Bunny made “I Like It” an easy choice for Song of the Year and Breakout Artist Juice WRLD has been giving everyone “Lucid Dreams” all year long. But these all-stars weren’t the only stars: Apple Music’s Canadian year-end charts and editorial playlists are packed with the year’s biggest hits and favourites from all over the world.

Best Music of the Year

Artist of the Year: Drake
Breakout Artist of the Year: Juice WRLD
Song of the Year: I Like It - Cardi B featuring Bad Bunny & J. Balvin
Album of the Year: Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves

Charts

Top 100 Canadian Songs
Top 100 Canadian Albums

This year, investigative reporting underpinned the immersive storytelling of shows such as Canadian podcast, “Semi-prose,” along with deep dives in the movie industry with TIFF’s “Long Take.” News and Politics grew as podcast genres in 2018 with The New York Times's “The Daily” and CBC Radio’s “The Current,” while celebrities and a healthy mix of independents topped this year’s new shows, including Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert,” “Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations” and Parcast Network's “Conspiracy Theories.” 

Best Canadian Podcasts of the Year

Semi-Prose
Home Cooked
TIFF Long Take
Escaping NXIVM 
The Big Story
Side Note
Personal Best
Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo
Chosen Family
Earth Rangers
Thunder Bay
History of 1995
Into the Anthropocene

Charts

Top 25 Most Downloaded Podcasts of the Year
Top 25 Most Downloaded New Podcasts of the Year 

The movies and TV shows of the year represent a rich mix of genres and topics ranging from indie, documentaries and animation to drama, horror and action. “Incredibles 2” and “Killing Eve” are the top picks of the year; they, along with other notable titles such as “Isle of Dogs,” “Three Identical Strangers” and “Sharp Objects,” have been praised by critics and fans alike and fuelled pop culture conversations and die-hard fandom around the world.  

Best Movies of 2018 on TV App

Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Three Identical Strangers
Mandy
A Quiet Place
Eighth Grade
Sorry to Bother You
Avengers: Infinity War
Crazy Rich Asians
A Star is Born*
*available for pre-order

Best TV Shows of 2018 on TV App

Killing Eve
Sharp Objects
Outlander
American Horror Story: Apocalypse
Atlanta: Robbin
Doctor Who
The Good Fight
New Amsterdam
Succession
Better Call Saul

In 2018, Apple Books launched as a brand new app, making it effortless for iPhone and iPad users to discover and enjoy books and audiobooks. This year Apple Books celebrates works from a diverse group of authors, including Canadian author Esi Edugyan's Washington Black; Patrick DeWitt’s French Exit; and Vivek Shraya’s I’m Afraid of Men. Politics dominated the Canadian charts this year with Fire and Fury, Fear and A Higher Loyalty all appearing in the top 10 best-selling nonfiction books. On the fiction front, readers remain rabid for books adapted for the screen, including Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians and Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects. 

Best Books of the Year 

Best Fiction: Washington Black  by Esi Edugyan
Best Nonfiction: I’m Afraid of Men  by Vivek Shraya
Best Mystery: Hysteria  by Elisabeth de Mariaffi
Best SciFi & fantasy: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Best Romance: Too Wilde to Wed by Eloisa James
Best Bio and Memoir: Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot
Best Young Reader Book: Children of Blood & Bone by Toni Adeyemi
Best Canadian Fiction: French Exit  by Patrick DeWitt

Best Audiobooks of the Year

Best fiction: Women Talking  by Miriam Toews
Best nonfiction: Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Best self-development: Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
Best business: Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
Best family: Rebound by Kwame Alexander
Best bio and memoir: Educated by Tara Westover
Best mystery: The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn
Best Narration: Beastie Boys Book by Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz
Best Canadian Audiobook: Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq

2018 Apple Books Charts

Top 100 Books Fiction
Top 100 Books Non-Fiction