Apple has announced its most popular apps of the past year – unveiling a list dominated by games, video, social and gambling.

And getting to the top of the app heap is getting more challenging, as Apple revealed its App Store now has over 1 million apps that have been downloaded over 60 billion times. 

Candy King

The ubiquitous Candy Crush Saga, the game where users solve puzzles revolving around candy, was the most popular Apple app of 2013.

Not only was Candy Crush Saga the most downloaded app, but it also generated a massive 4 million comments from users on iTunes and Google Play.

It's worth noting the game is free, but generates income from in-app purchases. Candy Crush's developer, King.com, is now preparing for a public IPO on the back of the game's success.

Video

Video remains a firms favourite with Apple users, with YouTube and Vine taking second and fourth place respectively. 

Twitter, which owns Vine, did not make the top ten.

Facebook and friends

While not top of the pops, Facebook came in at eighth position, one place behind Instagram, which Facebook owns.

Both lagged behind up-and-coming social superstar Snapchat, which snagged sixth place.

iPhones vs iPad

The list suggested consumers use their phones and tablets for different purposes. 

Social media sties made up five of the top 10 most popular free iPhone apps, while only Facebook scraped into the iPad's top ten. 

It seems users prefer using iPads for gambling and gaming. Five of the top 10 highest grossing iPad apps were gambling related, while the remaining five were games. 

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