There are so many great apps in the Google Play Store that it’s become the number one app marketplace in the world.
Here at Gadget Hacks we love apps and were excited to hear that the Google Play Store held an awards ceremony to celebrate some of the best apps of the year. But good luck finding any mention of it within the Play Store itself—some people aren’t seeing the awards promoted.
Apparently Google deemed my phone worthy enough to get a “Google Play Awards” winners subsection on the Play Store front page, but even then, I had to do some scrolling before I found it.
A few of my colleagues, and probably many others, saw no mention of the winners anywhere on the Play Store app. If you’re not seeing it on your phone yet, you can see the nominees here and check out the winners here.
Frustratingly, Google didn’t organize the winners or nominees at all, so you can’t really tell which app was nominated for which category, or what the categories even were. That’s where we come in—check out the winners and nominees in each category below.
Best App
Houzz: This is an interior decorating app that lets you photograph rooms in your home and virtually add in new items to see how they look.
Other Nominees: BuzzFeed News, Colorfy, Yummly, and TuneIn Radio.
Best Game
Clash Royale: The latest entry in the Clash of Clans series.
Other Nominees: Alphabear, Clash of Kings, Marvel Future Fight, and Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.
Standout Indie
Alphabear: It couldn’t take home “Best Game”, but this word puzzle game is still getting lots of attention.
Other Nominees: Alto’s Adventure, Fast Like a Fox, Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector, and Prune.
Most Innovative
NYT VR: Experience amazing stories from the New York Times in virtual reality.
Other Nominees: Fabulous, Fast Like a Fox, SmartNews, and This War of Mine.
Best Use of Google Play Game Services
Table Tennis Touch: A ping pong game with single player and multiplayer modes, and some nice graphics.
Other Nominees: Sea Battle 2, Tapventures, Tower Madness 2, and Zombie Highway 2.
Best Use of Material Design
Robinhood: A free stock trading app with a clean, easy to use interface.
Standout Startup
Hopper: This airfare prediction app says you can save up to 40% on flights.
Other Nominees: Dubsmash, musical.ly, Robinhood, and Vrse.
Best Families App
Thinkrolls 2: A fun logic puzzle game for children age 3-9.
Other Nominees: Card Wars – Adventure Time, LEGO Jurassic World, My Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Toca Nature.
Early Adopter
World Around Me: This app shows you nearby restaurants, attractions, etc. through your phone’s camera.
Other Nominees: Glide, Mechanic Escape, Minecraft: Story Mode, and Zumper.
Go Global
Pokemon Shuffle Mobile: Do battle with Pokemon by completing puzzles.
Other Nominees: Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, Freeletics Body Weight, Memrise, and Musixmatch.
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