They're what changed how we worked and how we played. They're what compelled us to replace the devices on our wrist, in our pocket, on our laps or desks, and in our living rooms. They're what dictated the look of our home screens and our docks. They're the devices and features, gear and accessories, and apps and games that filled us with surprise and delight, got us to forget what came before, and made it impossible for us to imagine how we ever lived without them. They're our 2016 iMore Award winners!

Best of the Year

Best Apple device: iPhone 7 Plus iPhone 7 Plus didn't just bring a bigger screen and battery this year, it brought a significantly better camera with optical zoom and portrait mode. And that got everyone's attention. — Rene Ritchie Runner Up: iPad Pro 9.7-inch

Best iOS Feature Portrait Mode iOS packed a ton of great features into its 2016 update, but the best feature of all came in iOS 10.1. Portrait Mode exemplifies the best of Apple's software engineering smarts, creating incredible photos that, in some cases, rival DSLRs. It may be exclusively for the iPhone 7 Plus this year, but it's a sure sign of what's to come for Apple's smartphone cameras. — Serenity Caldwell Runner up: Differential Privacy Messages

Best macOS Feature Apple Pay Get ready to shop til' you drop, except you won't drop because you won't be exhausted, because all you have to do to buy stuff on macOS now is click on Apple Pay. You can confirm the payment via Apple Watch or iPhone, and if you have a MacBook Pro with Touch ID, all you need is your fingerprint. It really makes online shopping a breeze. — Lory Gil Runners up: Auto Unlock Siri for Mac

Best watchOS Feature Activity Sharing Of watchOS's many great new features this year, none got me moving and motivated more than Activity Sharing: If Rene can get a workout in walking five miles in the snow, I can definitely pick up a few heavy things. — Serenity Caldwell Runners up: Fast Watch Face Switching Breathe

Best tvOS Feature TV app The TV app turned out to be a pleasant surprise, even for cable cordcutters. It makes it easy to keep track of shows and movies you watch without having to remember which app you were watching it in, and it also helps you discover new content you didn't know was available to you through all of the various services. — Lory Gil Runners up: Siri enhancements

Story of the Year FBI vs. Apple The FBI wanted Apple to create a back door into iOS. Apple said 'no'. The skirmish ended with the FBI finding another way, but the war over privacy has just begun. — Rene Ritchie Runners up: Pokémon Go No new Mac desktops

Best of iPhone

Best iPhone app Cardiogram The Apple Watch measures your heart beat, but Cardiogram makes sense of it: This iPhone app gives you detailed heart history, averages, and even hooks into heart studies to help make people healthier around the globe. — Serenity Caldwell Runners up: Ulysses djay Pro

Best iPhone game Pokémon Go To call Pokémon Go a phenomena is to undersell it. A beloved franchise found new life and the greatest spike in initial interest imaginable in a modern, mobile, agumented reality, geo-location world. — Rene Ritchie Runners up: Reigns Super Mario Run

Best iPhone accessory AirPods Apple taketh the 3.5mm headphone jack from iPhone, but giveth AirPods, which use the new W1 chip to make pairing and switching between devices easier than ever before. And they shipped in time for this award! More... — Rene Ritchie Runners up: Moment Lens Kit

Best photography app Prisma In a world of basic filters, 3D dog faces, and oversaturated, overbearing editing tools, Prisma stood out like a white knight who just destroyed a poorly-edited dragon. This incredibly creative mobile app lets users become true artists and manipulate their photos in totally new, non-cliche ways. Plus, it's super addicting. — Cella Lao Rousseau Runners up: FiLMiC Pro Obscura Camera

Best Messages app Square Cash We use Square Cash constantly when splitting dinner checks or paying rent, and its Messages app makes the process even easier: Just select the amount you want to send, press pay, and watch it go! — Serenity Caldwell Runners up: Momento Giphy

Best sticker pack Grammar Snob The funniest, worst thing you can do to a friend or enemy is to start red-lining the mistakes in their messages. Grammer Snob lets you do just that. I want to use it constantly... and punch it in the face every time it's used on me. — Rene Ritchie Runners up: CARROT Weather Bitmoji

Best Maps app Open Table Why deal with Open Table's fussy web interface when you can reserve a table directly from Apple Maps? The big blue Reserve button appears for any restaurant that supports the reservation service, allowing you to quickly snag a table at your favorite place. — Serenity Caldwell Runners up: Uber

Best Siri app [Skype](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skype-for-iphone/id304878510?mt=8&at=10l3Vy&ct=UUimUdUnU40545YYw "Skype Serenity." "Call Georgia on Skype." "Message Mikah using Skype" — Combine Microsoft's communicator with Apple's new Siri apps and you get old world networking with new world ease. — Rene Ritchie Runners up: Venmo ZOVA

Best 3D Touch app djay Pro Not only did Algoriddim manage to pack all of djay Pro's features into the much-smaller-than-iPad-or-Mac iPhone interface, they took advantage of something unique to the platform: full-on Taptic support. So, now, you don't just have to look at the beat — you can feel it! — Rene Ritchie Runners up: NOISE Badland 2

Best iPhone case Sena Lugano Wallet With the iPhone 7 Plus's extra girth taking up more space in our bags and pockets, a great wallet case was a must for reducing clutter and having necessities on your person at all times. The Lugano case is a beautiful, slim leather option that lets you carry your cards without the bulk. — Serenity Caldwell Runners up: Journal Silk Grip Case

Best battery case Mophie Juice Pack Year after year, mophie hits iPhone charging cases out of the park. They're not the cheapest, but they're high quality, high performance, and often the ones worth waiting for. — Rene Ritchie Runner up: Apple Smart Battery Case

Best headphones Bose QuietComfort 35 There's no other headphone I want to travel home for the holidays with than the Bose QC35. Wireless, noise-cancelling, and battery for hours on end — who could ask for anything more? — Serenity Caldwell Runner up: Liberatone Q Adapt

Best HomeKit accessory iHome Smart Plug iPS6 The iHome Smart Plug is easily the best start to any HomeKit home, because it's far simpler than fiddling with bulbs, thermostats, fans, etc. You can easily turn anything that plugs in into a HomeKit-enabled device: It's responsive, it looks great, and it's so easy to set up! — Mikah Sargent Runner up: August Smart Lock

Best of iPad

Best iPad app Procreate iPad Pro and Apple Pencil are fantastic tools, but Procreate harnesses them to help you create fantastic art. With its new screen broadcast features and support for the PSD format, it's an easy app of the year in our books. — Serenity Caldwell Runner up: Swift Playgrounds

Best iPad game [Human Resource Machine](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/human-resource-machine/id1005098334?mt=8&at=10l3Vy&ct=UUimUdUnU40545YYw "Coding can be fun!" But you have no idea just how fun it can be until you've played Human Resource Machine: It plays like a puzzle game, all the while teaching you the basic fundamentals of coding. — Lory Gil Runner up: Severed

Best iPad accessory and keyboard 9.7-inch Logitech Create After working on an iPad Pro for a year, there's no other keyboard I want by my side than the 9.7-inch Logitech Create. It's a great keyboard, offers Pencil storage, and protects my iPad Pro like nothing else. — Serenity Caldwell Runner up: Jot Mark

Best of Mac

Best Mac app Spark Spark was already a great email app for iOS, but this year Readdle brought it to the Mac with tons of useful features, including a smart inbox — my favorite way to keep track of important emails. — Lory Gil Runner up: Capo 3.5

Best Mac game Firewatch Simplicity, stunning visual style, and a truly engaging story make Firewatch our game of the year: It's a pleasant reminder that indie game studios can blow Triple-A studios out of the water. — Luke Filipowicz Runner up: Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Mac accessory Twelve South Fermata The big downside about Bluetooth headphones? Remembering to charge them. Twelve South's Fermata takes that stress out of the equation with a gorgeous desktop headphone stand that also packs in a built-in charger. — Serenity Caldwell Runner up: LG 5K Display

Best Mac speakers Libratone Zipp The Libratone Zipp is an amazing speaker: Beautifully designed and impeccably built, the rounded cavity delivers 360-degree sound that works with Bluetooth, AirPlay and Spotify Connect. Combine two for whole-room or whole-house playback! — Daniel Bader Runner up: UE Boom 2

Best Mac hub & dongles OWC USB-C Dock When USB-C alone is not enough, OWC's dock gives your MacBook or MacBook Pro more ports than you can shake a dongle at! — Rene Ritchie Runner up: USB-C to USB-A Adapter

Best Mac external drive LaCie Porsche Design USB-C Drive Zoom zoom: Who doesn't want a hard drive with a race car name? Porsche Design may only be loosely affiliated with its sports car cousin, but it still makes darn nice hard drives — and the LaCie brand backs that sleek design up with a rock-solid USB-C option for MacBook and MacBook Pro users alike. — Serenity Caldwell Runner up: G‑DRIVE USB‑C 1TB Drive

Best Mac bag Waterfield Staad Attaché If you need a stylish bag for the new MacBook Pro or your iPad, you can't go wrong with the Waterfield Staad: It has a cushioned compartment for your primary device and pockets and pouches to spare. — Serenity Caldwell Runner up: Pad and Quill Roll Top Backpack

Best of Apple Watch

Best Watch app Breathe Breathing isn't just essential to life. It's essential to managing stress, anxiety, and your life. Breathe for Apple Watch is an amazing addition, reminding us all to simply stop, become mindful, and regain our focus. — Georgia Dow Runner up: Streaks

Best Watch complication Carrot Weather Snarky and ever-present, Carrot's myriad complications for Apple Watch present you with a little weather in your life no matter what watch face you wish to wear (not that it will save you, puny human). — Serenity Caldwell Runner up: Fantastical

Best Watch accessory Time Porter Traveling for the holidays is never easy, especially when you're worrying about toting around charging gear for all your electronics. The Time Porter takes care of this for your Apple Watch, giving you a travel stand, charger, and accessory case — all in one! — Serenity Caldwell Runner up: AirPods

Best Watch band Woven Nylon How do you beat the Sport Band at its own game? If you're Apple, you introduce the funner, more breathable Woven Nylon. Bought. So. Many. — Rene Ritchie

Best of TV

Best TV app Hyper The Hyper app for Apple TV offers up the best of the best videos on the internet in a beautifully designed interface. Skip sifting through YouTube lists and Vimeo recommendations and get right to the good stuff with Hyper! — Mikah Sargent Runner up: Pokémon TV

Best TV game Minecraft Minecraft is a fantastic game on any device, but it is especially wonderful on your television: It's the first major game on Apple TV that requires a separate game controller. We've spent hours building, tearing down, and exploring vast landscapes in Minecraft — and are sure to spend many more. — Lory Gil Runner up: Pokémon TV