Screen Shot 2014-12-08 at 4.51.05 PMIt’s December, and that means it’s time for editorial teams all around the globe to start tallying up their “Best of 2014” lists. Apple has joined the fray with a list of the best apps of the year developed for its platform, led by brain training service Elevate on the iPhone and heavy-duty image editor Pixelmator on the iPad.

In addition to the two anointed best apps, the list includes a host of other tools from a variety of other categories. Seattle developers got some love this year, with storytelling app Steller making the ‘best of’ list on the iPhone.

Steller for the iPhone
Steller for the iPhone

“Being chosen by Apple as one of the Best Apps of 2014 is a huge honor for us and we want to thank the Steller community that is truly redefining storytelling on the iPhone,” Steller co-founder and Head of Design Karen Poole in an email. “We are equally excited about what we’ve got coming in 2015 and we invite everyone to join our growing and diverse community.”

The Omni Group’s task manager OmniFocus 2 for iPad got a nod as one of the best iPad apps of the year. Apple also recognized OmniFocus 2 for the Mac on the Mac App Store. It’s another pair of nice recognitions for the venerable Seattle-based software development house, which picked up a Best of 2013 nod last year for its update to OmniFocus for iPhone.

“We’re thrilled to be included in two Best of 2014 lists and rather proud of the work we’ve done with OmniFocus in the past year,” Omni spokesperson Derek Reiff told GeekWire in an email. “Both happened with a lot of hard work from the entire company. We’ll be adding even more features and improvements to OmniFocus 2 for iPad, Mac, and iPhone in 2015.”

Microsoft’s Office for iPad was recognized by Apple in the form of Word for iPad, which was introduced to much fanfare in March and has since been one of the most popular apps for the iPad on the App Store. Microsoft has subsequently made document creation and editing available on the iPad without a subscription.

Other notable apps recognized by Apple include SwiftKey’s new Keyboard app for the iPhone and iPad, Instagram’s Hyperlapse time-lapse video tool, Yahoo’s News Digest app, and password locker 1Password. In addition to the app nominations, Apple also named Monument Valley and Threes as its games of the year for iPad and iPhone, respectively.

Have any favorite apps that didn’t make the cut? Let us know in the comments. Also check out GeekWire’s regular App of the Week feature for our own regular picks.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.