Best apps of 2018: Apple names three Australian apps as the best in the world

Australian app makers have pulled off a major coup, with three homegrown projects — including the fitness program Sweat — named among Apple’s top picks of 2018.

Australian app makers pulled off a major coup today, with three homegrown apps named among Apple’s top picks of 2018.

The Aussie creations from Adelaide, Melbourne, and Tasmania were among just eight apps recognised worldwide by the tech giant as it also revealed its most downloaded free and paid apps of the year.

Experts say it bodes well for Australia’s digital industry, which is forecast to grow by more than 13 per cent this year in an industry set to rake in $157 billion by 2022.

Tasmanian illustrator James Cuda and his wife Alanna created the app Procreate Pocket.

Apple’s hand-picked choices for the best apps of the year range from Procreate Pocket, created by Tasmanian illustrator James Cuda with wife Alanna, to the work of Melbourne-based The Voxel Group who created sweeping Mac game The Gardens Between.

Adelaide-based fitness entrepreneur Kayla Itsines and partner Tobi Pearce were also recognised for their work taking Sweat to the big screen, moving from the iPhone and Apple Watch to the Apple TV platform.

Fitness queen Kayla Itsines has been recognised for her Sweat app. Picture: Matt Turner

Ms Itsines, named Forbes’ Top Fitness Influencer in the world last year, said she “almost jumped out of (her) chair” when she heard about the company’s Apple award.

The new version of her Sweat app brings resistance and cardio workout routines to the television, which she said had helped users exercise in comfort at home and in teams for the first time.

“It brings more people together in terms of working out with their friends, and working out in gym groups because they can see it on a big screen now,” she said.

Kayla Itsines says she almost jumped out her chair when she heard about the Apple award. Picture: Matt Turner.

The Apple award is the second for the Sweat app after it was recognised for its Apple Watch features in 2016.

Mr Pearce, Sweat’s chief executive, said the award proved Australian app developers could achieve worldwide success without moving to Silicon Valley.

“We’re just one of abundance of really great products and successful software companies coming out of Australia,” Mr Pearce said.

“I’m hearing quite regularly about new companies that are up and coming from here, and I’m quite proud that we are an Australian company.”

Mr Pearce said the pair had no intention to move from their Adelaide base, and had many more innovations planned for the Sweat brand, including new features rolling out to its apps within days.

“What we’re doing and what we’ve been able to achieve from Adelaide has not been restricted by being in Adelaide,” he said. “We’ll continue to strive to dominate from here.”

Matthew Clark developed the game The Gardens Between, which Apple described as a “rare puzzle game that finds a way to be deeply moving”.

The top Apple award is also the second collected by Mr Cuda under his Procreate brand, which had become a worldwide hit with graphic designers and illustrators. Apple noted the iPhone-friendly Pocket version of the app unlocked “the power of iPhone as a tool for professionals and hobbyists alike”.

Apple also called the adorable, time-shifting puzzle game, The Gardens Between, an app with “real heart” and a “rare puzzle game that finds a way to be deeply moving”.

The game is the second Melbourne-made app to be recognised by Apple this year after quirky romance title Florence won an Apple Design Award in June.

Australia punches above its weight in the app market, with IBISWorld estimating homemade apps will bring in $2 billion this financial year and grow by 13.7 per cent.

A study by American think-tank Progressive Policy Institute found Australia’s app economy employed more than 113,000 people last year, or more workers per capita than Europe, with New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland leading the country for app workers.

The popularity of apps is also expected to grow exponentially over the next four years, with App Annie estimating smartphone and tablet users will spend $157 billion on the software by 2022, and Australians will be among the top 10 app-buying countries, spending $1.8 billion.

Originally published as Best apps of 2018: Apple names three Australian apps as the best in the world