Google on Thursday announced Play Store's best apps and games of 2023 in India, which helped people through a range of critical needs. "In 2023, once again, we saw many new and exciting apps helping people through a range of critical needs, with self-care, personal growth, and e-commerce apps dominating app innovations on our list this year," Google said in a blog post.
The winner of the Best App of the Year is "Level SuperMind", which is helping people improve their mindfulness with personalized AI-enabled paths comprising a mix of meditation, exercises, journals, and sleep stories.
The winners of the Best App with AI category are -- Stimuler, which is helping people improve their English speaking skills with AI-powered voice technology, and SwiftChat, which uses conversational AI chatbots to assist students and teachers with personalized learning content in multiple Indian languages.
Therapy app -- THAP: Your Happiness Gym won the users’ choice app of the year in India.
The app helps people improve their mental well-being and manage issues such as depression, anxiety, and stress, with easy access to resources and licensed therapists. In personal growth, Infinity Learn and upGrad are catering to e-learning needs with high-quality and engaging learning avenues, and AmbitionBox is helping people make more informed career decisions, Google mentioned.
In the gaming category, the Best Game of the Year won by "Monopoly Go".The tech giant said this game "captured India’s fascination for multiplayer board games with the introduction of new and exciting boards, characters, and events, across the year".
Indian players also showered their love for the adventures of the Subway Surfers crew, with Subway Surfers Blast winning the users’ choice game award. Mighty Doom, a winner in the Best Pick Up & Play category, reignited the legacy of the Doom franchise, bringing its iconic demon-slaying action right into the hands of gamers. Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) captured the interest of the gaming community with a host of new updates, such as an all-new NUSA map and integration of Dragon Super Ball characters, making it one of Google Play's winners in the Best Ongoing Game category.
Sports game EA SPORTS FC Mobile Soccer also found a spot in the Best Ongoing Game category, mirroring the growing popularity of sports titles among Indian gamers. "It gives us immense joy to see local developers of all sizes leverage the potential of reaching over 2.5 billion monthly active users in 190 markets on Google Play, and building winning solutions for India and the world," Google said.