Focus Friend, the screen time assistant from YouTuber and entrepreneur Hank Green, is Google Play’s app of the year.
Launched in August, the productivity tool lets you block yourself from distracting phone apps while encouraging you with the aid of a virtual friend — a little cartoon bean that likes to knit socks and scarves, which can later be exchanged for décor for the little bean’s room.
The premise behind the app is that users might be encouraged to manage their screen time better if they know their actions would impact others, even if it’s just a little bean that would be sad if you interrupted their knitting project.
The app was a hit at launch, reaching No. 1 on Apple’s App Store after rapidly climbing the charts. On Android, Focus Friend has north of 1 million installs, according to its Play Store listing.
Google calls Focus Friend a helpful and cute app and an effective tool for helping users disconnect.
In a year that again saw AI assistants and tools climb the app store charts over and over again, it’s interesting to see a timer that helps you disconnect from your tech winning Google’s highest app award. On Google Play, for instance, the top apps currently include both of OpenAI’s consumer-facing tools: ChatGPT (at No. 1), and video app Sora. Other top apps focus on social media, entertainment, or shopping, like TikTok, WhatsApp, Instagram, Temu, and GoWish.
Clearly, consumers are rewarding apps that engage and addict, not those that encourage you to log off.
Google also announced several other app winners across categories like games, watches, XR headsets, and more. Trading card game Pokémon TCG Pocket won the best game award, the best multi-device app was photo editor Luminar, and the best multi-device game was racing game Disney Speedstorm.
Other winners for 2025 include:
Best Apps
Best Games
