These Were the Most Popular IPhone Apps in 2024

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There are plenty of apps on the App Store ( Apple says there are just under two million ). You might think that the market is so diverse that competition for the “most popular” apps of the year would be fierce. But if you look back, the apps that top the charts remain pretty much the same year after year.

The topic is on point

On Monday, Apple released a list of the year’s most popular iPhone and iPad apps across a range of categories. Just like last year, Temu has become the most popular free app of 2024. People still like to buy cheap goods, so perhaps this is not surprising. But I’m most interested in application number two: Threads . The “X” meta has had a great year as former X users look for an alternative to the platform formerly known as Twitter. However, we remain to see whether Bluesky will maintain its current momentum . If so, he could make the list in 2025.

In third place is TikTok , which is also not surprising: there is no more popular platform for short videos. However, don’t expect to see it listed in 2025 unless the Supreme Court steps in and saves the app from being banned in the US.

Artificial Intelligence Applications from OpenAI and Meta

ChatGPT became the fourth most popular free app in 2024, and that makes sense: AI is everywhere, and people are still interested in it. But it is the only AI app to make it into the top ten. Perhaps this speaks to the notoriety of ChatGPT or the fact that the hype around AI is not as big as some make it out to be. Either way, I think it was a smart move for Meta to integrate its AI services directly into apps like Instagram and WhatsApp. As much as I love Meta AI , these apps were the sixth and seventh most popular apps of the year. That’s a lot of exposure that probably wouldn’t have been achieved with a dedicated Meta AI app.

Top Paid Apps: VPN, Productivity and Creativity

Paid apps are an interesting group. If you’re like me, you probably haven’t heard of many of them. The top three apps— Shadowrocket , HotSchedules , and Procreate Pocket —remain the same as last year: Shadowrocket is a highly customizable VPN of sorts that lets you route internet traffic through proxy servers. HotSchedules is an employee scheduling app, and Procreate Pocket is the iPhone version of Procreate, the popular iPad art app.

Most popular games

In terms of games, MONOPOLY GO! is still on the list, but drops to the second most popular free game. This year the chart leader was Block Blast! , a puzzle game ranked seventh on the list in 2023. Roblox and Subway Surfers are back this year, as is the Call of Duty game, but this year it’s Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile . The two best paid games of 2024 are exactly the same as last year: Minecraft and Heads Up! No surprises.

Here’s the full list of categories, including games for iPhone, iPad and Apple Arcade:

Top free apps for iPhone

  1. Topic: shop like a billionaire

  2. Topics

  3. TikTok

  4. ChatGPT

  5. Google

  6. Instagram

  7. WhatsApp Messenger

  8. CapCut – Video Editor

  9. YouTube: watch, listen, broadcast

  10. Gmail – email from Google

Top paid applications for iPhone

  1. Shadow rocket

  2. Hot schedules

  3. Pocket for procreation

  4. 75 Hard

  5. AnkiMobile Cards

  6. AutoSleep Track Sleep on the watch

  7. Pepper Recipe Manager 3

  8. TonalEnergy tuner and metronome

  9. Goblin Tools

  10. Forest: Focus on Productivity

Top free games for iPhone

  1. Explosion block！

  2. MONOPOLY, GO!

  3. Roblox

  4. Call of Duty®: Warzone™ Mobile

  5. Town

  6. The Last War: Survival

  7. Royal match

  8. Brawl Stars

  9. Metro Surfers

  10. My ideal hotel

Top paid games for iPhone

  1. Minecraft: play with friends

  2. Beware!

  3. Geometry Dash

  4. Dad’s Freezer to Go!

  5. Balloons TD 6

  6. Five Nights at Freddy’s

  7. Plague Inc.

  8. MONOPOLY: Board Game

  9. Stardew Valley

  10. Red’s first flight

Top free iPad apps

  1. YouTube: watch, listen, broadcast

  2. Netflix

  3. Max: Stream HBO, TV and Movies

  4. Calculator – Pad Edition

  5. Disney+

  6. Google Chrome

  7. Peacock TV: Stream TV and Movies

  8. Amazon Prime Video

  9. TikTok

  10. Useful Notes 6

Top paid applications for iPad

  1. Multiply

  2. Propagate dreams

  3. Shadow rocket

  4. forScore

  5. Nomad Sculpture

  6. CartoonSquid

  7. Bluebeam Revu for iPad

  8. AnkiMobile Cards

  9. Teach your monster to read

  10. Endless paper

Top free games for iPad

  1. Roblox

  2. Magic Tiles 3: Piano Play

  3. MONOPOLY, GO!

  4. Metro Surfers

  5. Brawl Stars

  6. Geometry Dash Light

  7. Explosion block！

  8. Among us!

  9. My ideal hotel

  10. Royal match

Top paid games for iPad

  1. Minecraft: play with friends

  2. Geometry Dash

  3. Five Nights at Freddy’s

  4. Stardew Valley

  5. Balloons TD 6

  6. Daddy’s paleteria with you!

  7. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

  8. Playtime with Poppy, Chapter 1

  9. MONOPOLY: Board Game

  10. The Ultimate Solo Night

Best Apple Arcade Games

  1. NBA 2K24 Arcade Edition

  2. Snake.io+

  3. Hello Kitty: Island Adventures

  4. Sneaky Bigfoot

  5. Balls TD 6+

  6. Sonic Dream Team

  7. Retro NFL Cup ’25

  8. Disney’s Dreamlight Valley

  9. Cooking mom: Kitchen!

  10. Solitaire by MobilityWare+

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