Technologies

Apple Crowns Its Top Apps of 2025, and AI Dominates the Field

Tiimo, a visual planner for people with ADHD that uses AI, won the App of the Year award.

Apple named the 17 winners of its 2025 App Store Awards on Thursday, and AI made its presence felt. App of the Year Tiimo, created for folks with ADHD, is an AI visual planner; iPad App of the Year Detail uses AI to simplify video editing; and Mac App of the Year Essayist employs AI to ease «the time-consuming work of formatting academic papers.»

Apple began giving out App Store Awards over a decade ago, with recent App of the Year winners including Kino (2024), AllTrails (2023), BeReal (2022), Toca Life World (2021) and Wakeout! (2020).

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It’s apparent from this year’s selections that the AI juggernaut will continue growing in global influence. The Business of Apps, a B2B media and information platform, estimates that the AI app sector generated $4.5 billion in 2024 — more than half of that via ChatGPT — and that nearly 700 million people used AI apps in the first half of 2025. The website predicts that the AI app sector will exceed $150 billion in revenue by 2030.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

«Every year, we’re inspired by the ways developers turn their best ideas into innovative experiences that enrich people’s lives,» said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. «This year’s winners represent the creativity and excellence that define the App Store, and they demonstrate the meaningful impact that world-class apps and games have on people everywhere.»

‘For brains that work differently’

Tiimo is based in Copenhagen and was co-founded by Helene Lassen Nørlem and Melissa Würtz Azari to create planning tools for individuals with Autism, ADHD, neurodivergence and executive functioning differences. The company website says its app’s tools «are adaptive by design; visual, flexible, and grounded in how neurodivergent people really plan, think, and follow through,» and notes that the app is «for brains that work differently.»

The app originated as a research project exploring how tech could support neurodivergent teens, but Würtz Azaritransformed that into a business after being diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, according to the company.

Tiimo’s App of the Year honor comes a year after the app was named a finalist in the 2024 Apple Design Awards in the inclusivity category.

Würtz Azari said Tiimu succeeds because its developers «challenge that status quo» of how apps typically present calendars, to-do lists and focus tools. We «integrate focus timers into tasks, add small celebratory cues, and build subtle improvements that make it easier to stay organized,» she said.

Tackling the citations beast

Anyone who has done a research paper or term paper knows how incredibly annoying and time-consuming it is to do citations.

Essayist, the Mac App of the Year, utilizes AI to «insert citations seamlessly,» for APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian and Harvard citation styles. The app also eases the processes of adding references and formatting papers.

Video editing made AI easy

The Detail app, which Apple named iPad App of the Year, says its app can «turn podcasts, reactions and presentations into ready to share content in seconds.»

Detail says its Auto Edit feature can perform «silence removal, zoom cuts, titles, captions, music and more.»

Detail also says that its Podcast Auto Edit tool can «generate multiple long-form edits and short clips for social in a tap – —utomatically switch speakers and save hours of editing.»

The complete list of winners

As chosen from the previously announced finalists, here are the 17 winners of Apple’s 2025 App Store Awards:

iPhone App of the Year: Tiimo
iPhone Game of the Year: Pokémon TCG Pocket
iPad App of the Year: Detail
iPad Game of the Year: DREDGE
Mac App of the Year: Essayist
Mac Game of the Year: Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition
Apple Vision Pro App of the Year: Explore POV
Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year: Porta Nubi
Apple Watch App of the Year: Strava
Apple TV App of the Year: HBO Max
Apple Arcade Game of the Year: WHAT THE CLASH?
Cultural Impact Winners: Art of Fauna, Chants of Sennaar, despelote, Be My Eyes, Focus Friend, and StoryGraph

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Jan. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s not too tough, but 8-Across stumped me, so I had to pass on that and fill in the Down answers to solve it. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Abruptly stop texting
Answer: GHOST

6A clue: Shaving kit item
Answer: RAZOR

7A clue: 2024 film role for which Mikey Madison won Best Actress
Answer: ANORA

8A clue: The ancient Chinese used compressed blocks of tea leaves as this
Answer: MONEY

9A clue: Shape of a round chart
Answer: PIE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Dad’s dad, informally
Answer: GRAMP

2D clue: Capital of Vietnam
Answer: HANOI

3D clue: ___ layer, part of Earth’s atmosphere
Answer: OZONE

4D clue: How you might wake up after sleeping funny
Answer: SORE

5D clue: Cafeteria food carrier
Answer: TRAY

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Technologies

Google Could Revive Last Year’s Bright Pink Color for the Pixel 10a

Google’s upcoming Pixel 10a is expected to launch in February with some new colors, including one popular ask.

The Google Pixel 9a is one of Google’s most affordable Pixel phones, and it includes one of the most frequently requested colors — bright pink. With the Google Pixel 10a rumored to launch in February, we’re already getting a hint at the colors the new model will come in.

According to Roland Quandt, a regular mobile leaker on Bluesky, the Google Pixel is expected to be offered in obsidian (black), berry (pink), fog (light gray), and lavender colors. However, it’s the berry hue that is intriguing customers.

A representative for Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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«I always love to see phones come in vibrant colors, and it’s especially welcome in more budget-friendly options,» said Abrar Al-Heeti, senior technology reporter at CNET. «Yes, we tend to slap a case on our phones anyway, but just knowing your phone touts a bold color can make it feel like more of a statement piece, rather than a bland piece of tech.»

Pink is one of the most requested color options for the Pixel phones. CNET sister site Mashable loved the color when it debuted on the Pixel 9. Phone rivals like Apple and Samsung are usually expected to offer a pink color option in their flagship and midrange phone lineups, so it’s not surprising to see the berry color on the Pixel 10a.

«I’ll say that Google loves having Pixel phones in pink,» said Patrick Holland, CNET managing editor. «The Pixel 9 and 9a come in peony (a bright, bold pink) and the 9 Pro in rose quartz (a more muted pink). The Pixel 10 series lacks any pinkish hues.»

Quandt also says that the Pixel 10a will have 128GB and 256GB storage models, and will launch in mid-February. That’s earlier than expected compared with the Pixel 9a, which was revealed in mid-March 2025 for a launch on April 10. In terms of specifications, we expect the Pixel 10a to be a modest upgrade compared with previous generations. According to leaks, the Pixel 10 is unlikely to feature a newer Tensor G5 chip, and it’s likely to retain the same overall design as the Pixel 9a.

One leaker, Mystic Leaks on Telegram, expressed disappointment and revealed additional specs, including the absence of a telephoto lens, UFS 3.1 storage, a Tensor G4 chip, a 2,000-nit display and no Magic Cue, which is Google’s AI feature for the Pixel 10.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 14, #948

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 14 #948.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. The blue category, not the purple one today, expects you to find hidden words in four of the words given in the grid. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: That’s not going anywhere.

Green group hint: End user or customer.

Blue group hint: Ask a meteorologist.

Purple group hint: Not noisy.