YouTuber and entrepreneur Hank Green’s screen time assistant Focus Friend has been named Google Play’s app of the year.
Released in August, this productivity tool lets you block distracting phone apps while motivating yourself with the help of a virtual friend (a little cartoon bean who likes to knit socks and scarves). These can later be replaced with small bean room decorations.
The premise behind this app is that if users know that their actions affect others, even if it’s just a small bean and they’d be sad if it interrupted their knitting project, they might be inspired to manage their screen time better.
The app was an instant hit upon release, quickly climbing the charts before reaching number 1 on Apple’s App Store. According to the Play Store listing, Focus Friend has over 1 million installations on Android.
Google calls Focus Friend a useful, cute app and an effective tool to help users disconnect.
In a year where AI assistants and tools have climbed the app store charts time and time again, it’s interesting that a timer that helps you disconnect from technology won Google’s Best App award. For example, on Google Play, the top apps currently include both OpenAI’s consumer tool ChatGPT (No. 1) and the video app Sora. Other top apps like TikTok, WhatsApp, Instagram, Temu, and GoWish focus on social media, entertainment, and shopping.
It’s clear that consumers value apps that keep them hooked and engaged, rather than apps that force them to log off.
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Google also announced several other app winners across categories such as games, watches, and XR headsets. Trading card game Pokémon TCG Pocket won best game, best multi-device app went to photo editor Luminar, and best multi-device game went to racing game Disney Speedstorm.
Other winners for 2025 are:
best app
best games
