Paytm, Olacabs, Flipkart make it to Apple’s Best of 2017 Apps list

On Thursday, Apple unveiled the 2017 charts and trends, celebrating the most popular apps, music, movies, TV shows, books, and podcasts across the App Store, Apple Music, iTunes, iBooks and Apple Podcasts.

Apps like Bitmoji, YouTube, Instagram, Google Maps, Spotify, Snapchat, Messenger, and Facebook were listed as the world’s most popular this year.

The India list of the most popular apps in the App Store included the Indian unicorns – payments and wallet app Paytm, taxi-hailing app Ola Cabs, and online shopping app Flipkart.

While social networking apps like WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram were obvious inclusions in the list globally, Indian apps that also made it include Jio’s MyJio app, and Star Network’s HotStar app. [Read here]

Apple's selection of the most popular apps ran across the categories of gaming, media and books. The top games charts in India had Ludo King, 9 Pool Game, Super Mario Run, Candy Crush Saga, Subway Surfers, Doodle Army 2, and Pokemon Go, among others, featured. [Find the complete list here].

When looking at Apple Music in India, the Humma Song by A.R. Rahman from OK Jaanu tops the charts, while the most popular album was Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Surprisingly, Ed Sheeran hit the second position across top songs and album category.

According to iTunes Movies, top five Indian movies according to Apple were Dear Zindagi, Sully, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (Hindi Version), Baahubali - The Beginning (Hindi Version), and Raees.

Further, while publishing its list, Apple App Store editors identified four breakout trends in app culture for 2017, which included the introduction of AR (augmented reality) apps and games, the rise of real-time competitive gaming, apps focused on mental health and mindfulness, and apps transforming storytelling and reading.