At the end of each year, Google selects a handful of Android and Chromebook applications and crowns them the best Google Play apps for that year. The informal award recognizes a smattering of useful and well-made apps and illuminates the trends that make each year unique. The United States’ top Android apps for 2023 are practically a case study for that latter bit, thanks to new categories that highlight AI.
A couple of this year’s best apps are so ubiquitous that they’re almost a given. Spotify, the country’s best-known music streaming platform, is considered the “Best Multi-Device App” for 2023 because it can stream across several devices simultaneously. Bumble For Friends (BFF), a friend-finding and networking spinoff built into the popular Bumble dating app, gained recognition under Google Play’s “Best for Fun” category.
For better or worse, we’re all familiar with ChatGPT—and it earned a Google Play award, too. “To reflect this year’s trends, we introduced new award categories that recognize helpful apps using the latest technology,” Google’s app roundup reads. This includes the “Best with AI” category, under which ChatGPT shockingly won honorable mention. The chatbot instead took what can loosely be called first place in Google Play’s “User’s Choice App” category, while “Best with AI” was awarded to Character AI, an app full of chatbots that creepily mimic historical figures.
Lesser-known apps made the cut, too. Voidpet Garden, which Google Play named “Best for Personal Growth,” uses virtual critters to teach users mindfulness and self-care skills. Aware, the “Best Hidden Gem,” also offers mindfulness tips but through journaling and guided gratitude exercises. Artifact, 2023’s “Best Everyday Essential” app, sorts news articles on various topics into an X-like feed. Google Play handed its “Best App for Good” award to AWorld, an app made by the United Nations ACT NOW campaign that helps users learn about everyday sustainability. PAW Patrol Academy, a problem-solving app for kids, got Google Play's “Best for Families” award.
Finally, Google Play’s overall “Best App of 2023” is Imprint: Learn Visually, an app that serves up interactive, bite-sized lessons on topics ranging from philosophy and history to finance and technology. Google appears to like Imprint for its tendency to “use visual storytelling to bring concepts to life,” while reviewers like that the app helps them become well-rounded while satisfying the itch to learn.
To see which Chromebook apps Google highlighted this year, check out the company’s “Best of 2023” roundup. Google also recognized some games and e-books, which can be found on the same list.
