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Google Play Best of 2018 Awards: Vote for your favorite apps, games, and movies! (Updated)
Update, November 12, 2018 (05:00AM ET): Google has added a “Fan Favorite Movies” voting category for the Google Play Awards 2018. Users can now vote for their favorite entry out of a 20-strong list of movies available on the Play Store.
Unlike the bizarre apps and games categories, the movies that made the cut were actually released this year! You would think this would go without saying considering this is the 2018 awards but here we are.
Overall there are some pretty decent picks, even if a quarter of the list is taken up by superhero movies — I quite liked Ant-Man and the Wasp, but it’s hardly in the same league as Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther.
It’s also great to see some more left-field candidates like the terrifyingly brilliant Hereditary and the superb sci-fi horror Annihilation. The full list is below and you can head here to cast your vote:
- Annihilation
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Blackkklansman
- Black Panther
- Deadpool 2
- Game Night
- Hereditary
- Incredibles 2
- Isle of Dogs
- Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
- Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
- Mission: Impossible – Fallout
- Leave No Trace
- Love, Simon
- Paddington 2
- A Quiet Place
- Ready Player One
- Sorry to Bother You
- Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Original article, November 5, 2018 (11:46AM ET): There’s less than two months left of 2018, which means it’s almost time for the customary barrage of end of year round-ups and awards! We’ve already started preparations for Best of Android 2018 here at Android Authority, and now Google is joining the party with the Google Play Best of 2018 Awards.
The full results will be revealed on December 3, but in a big change from years past, this time around users will be able to vote for their favorite apps and games of the past 12 months — with a fairly huge caveat.
The winner(s) of the public vote will be awarded the title of User’s Choice App and User’s Choice Game. To get started all you have to do is log in with your Google account and cast your votes here.
As you’ll see, however, Google has pre-selected 20 candidates for each award, so you won’t be able to pick any app or game released on the Play Store in 2018. Instead, the selection represents the best “trending” apps and games of the year, according to the big G.
Here’s the full list for both awards:
User’s Choice Apps
- The Athletic
- Castbox
- Canva
- Collage Maker
- DU Recorder
- Home Workout
- LingoDeer
- Movies Anywhere
- Pandora
- Quizlet
- Sandbox
- Simply Piano
- Sweatcoin
- TikTok
- Tinder
- Topbuzz Lite
- Uber Eats
- Wish
- YouTube TV
User’s Choice Games
- Asphalt 9: Legends
- Candy Crush Friends Saga
- Clash Royale
- Empires and Puzzles
- Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire
- Guns of Glory
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
- Homescapes
- Hungry Dragon
- Jurassic Park Alive
- Kick the Buddy
- Love Nikki
- Madden NFL Overdrive
- Marvel Strike Force
- Pokémon Go
- PUBG Mobile
- Run Sausage Run!
- The Sims Mobile
- Toon Blast
- The Walking Dead: Our World
There are so many problems with Google’s selection that I honestly don’t even know where to begin.
For starters, the 2018 tag is largely arbitrary. Apps like Tinder and Reddit have been on Google’s storefront for ages, likewise Clash Royale which has been topping the charts since its initial launch in 2016.
There’s also some incredibly questionable inclusions on here, especially on the games list. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery sneaks onto the list despite (warranted) criticism over the game’s implementation of in-app purchases.
There’s also Final Fantasy XV, but not the pretty good Pocket Edition. No, instead we’ve got Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire, which as anyone who’s played it will know is a pay-to-win nightmare.
Considering how many great apps and games launch every year but get lost in the shuffle, it’s a shame Google is boosting the profile of chart-toppers we’re already more than familiar with.
What do you make of the lists? Bear in mind that the lists may appear different to you depending on your region, the U.K. list differs a little from the U.S. version, but it’s not much better!