Apple Design Awards 2026: an Italian app is among the winners
In recent days, Apple announced the twelve winners of the Apple Design Awards 2026, the awards that the company gives each year around WWDC to apps and games that best embody design, accessibility, and the use of its technologies. The awardees come from a pool of 36 international finalists, with one app and one game chosen for each of the six categories:
- Delight and Fun
- Inclusivity
- Innovation
- Interaction
- Social Impact
- Visuals and Graphics
For Italian readers, there is an added interest: among the winners is a developer from our country. Moonlitt: Moon Phase Tracker, from the Italian studio Flipping Hues, won the Interaction category, which is dedicated to the most intuitive interfaces and the best controls for each platform.
The Italian app Moonlitt is for tracking moon phases and celestial events, useful also as support for astrophotography. Apple emphasizes its extensive support for multiple platforms, from iPhone to Apple Vision Pro, the simplicity of the first launch, and the integration with Liquid Glass, the visual language introduced with the latest operating system cycle. This is not the first recognition for the studio at the Apple Design Awards: the sister app Sunlitt, dedicated to the sun, was already among the finalists for the 2024 edition.
Other awardees among the apps include grug, a daily affirmations app by the Dutch studio Ocho (Delight and Fun); Guitar Wiz, a collection of tools for guitarists by Indian developer Bijoy Thangaraj (Inclusivity); the NBA app for Apple Vision Pro (Innovation); Primary: News in Depth, a journalistic deep-dive app also for Vision Pro (Social Impact); and Tide Guide, dedicated to tides (Visuals and Graphics).
From AAA games to spatial reality
On the gaming front, the most recognizable name is Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition by CD Projekt, awarded for Visuals and Graphics. Apple describes it as one of the most challenging and ambitious titles visually available on Mac, capable of fully leveraging Apple silicon, Metal shaders, MetalFX frame interpolation, and path tracing on higher-end chips. Completing the list are Is This Seat Taken? (Delight and Fun), Pine Hearts (Inclusivity), Blue Prince (Innovation), Sago Mini Jinja's Garden (Interaction), and Consume Me (Social Impact).
A recurring element in many nominations is the growing importance of Apple Vision Pro. Among winners and finalists are several experiences designed for visionOS, from the simultaneous viewing of multiple NBA games with spatial audio to immersive auto museums, confirming how much Apple is encouraging developers to fill the platform with quality content in anticipation of WWDC.
The complete list of winners and finalists, along with their justifications, can be viewed on the Apple Developer website. The awards will be celebrated during WWDC26, which is set to start on June 8.