Meet Google Play's best apps, games, and movies of 2019
Spotify was India’s user’s choice app of the year on Google Play, while ‘Call of Duty’ dominated the gaming category locally and globally. Here are the top apps of 2019
It is that time of the year!
Google has released its annual ranking of Play Store’s best apps, games, movies, books and audiobooks of 2019. There are the usual suspects, and also some new, unheard of apps that emerged as absolute winners during the year.
Image: Google Play
Brett Bouchard, Global Head of Editorial,Google Play, wrote on the official blog,
“2019 took us to distant worlds and brought us together with new apps, games, movies, and books. We answered the Call of Duty, made photos move, and went back to Gilead — it was an amazing year from beginning to Endgame.”
Let’s find out the winners.
Best App
Ablo, a chat service that lets you connect, discover, and have one-on-one conversations with friends from around the world, is Google Play’s Best App of 2019.
The app, which was launched less than a year ago, allows users to read, write, and talk in their own language, and also translates chats and video calls in real time. Ablo has recorded over a million installs, and is rated 4.4 out of 5.
Google wrote in a statement,
"This year, one app truly stood out from the rest: It surprised and delighted us with its ingenuity and polish. Beautifully designed and thoughtfully executed, it’s our Best App of 2019."
Best Game
Move over PUBG, 2019 belonged to Call of Duty - another multiplayer action game.
Call of Duty: Mobile brings in console quality HD gaming on the phone with customisable controls, voice and text chat, and thrilling 3D graphics and sound.
It has recorded over 50 million downloads on Play Stores in less than four months. The app is rated 4.5 out of 5.
Google says Call of Duty was “fun, accessible, and delivered compelling gameplay” to users. “It also pushed the boundaries of what we expect on mobile,” it added.
Best User’s Choice App
The results in this category were determined by user votes.
Video editor Glitch was the top user’s choice app globally. Glitch offers 100-plus video effects, along with background music options, and a VHS retro camcorder.
The app has recorded 10 million installs, and is rated 4.6 out of 5.
In India, meanwhile, users voted for Spotify as the best app of 2019. The music-streaming app has garnered immense popularity in the country within a year of its launch.
Other local app-nominees in the User’s Choice category were Meesho, OKCredit, Shilpa Shetty - Fitness/Yoga, Vedantu, Live Line, and Hike.
Interestingly, Facebook-backed Meesho was the top app in the ‘Best Everyday Essentials’ category in Play Store India.
Best User’s Choice Game
Call of Duty was declared the best gaming app by users in India and across the globe.
Other nominees in this category included Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, Stick Cricket Live, Brawl Stars, RAID: Shadow Legends, Angry Birds Dream Blast, and others.
Best Users’ Choice Movie
There are hardly any surprises on this front!
Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame, one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, was the most-loved Google Play Movies title in India and globally.
Other nominees in this category included Spider-Man: Far from Home, A Star is Born, Bumblebee, Zero, Badla, Bohemian Rhapsody, and others.
Best Users’ Choice Book / Audiobook
On Google Play Books, Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope was the top title in India, while Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark ranked on top globally.
Among audiobook titles, Michelle Obama’s Becoming emerged as the winner. It was followed by Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.
(Edited by Megha Reddy)
