By Jason Snell
November 28, 2023 8:55 AM PT
It’s end-of-year list season for Apple
Note: This story has not been updated since 2023.
In the surest sign that the end of the year is nearing and that whatever happens in December stays in December, Apple dropped a bunch of its annual 2023 lists on Tuesday.
In one of those weird new “Quick Read” pop-up posts on Apple Newsroom, Apple announced its top podcasts of 2023. (Please note that Apple only measures listening in its own Podcasts app, so Spotify and indie podcast apps aren’t counted.) The top podcasts are what you’d expect if you’ve ever looked at Apple’s podcast charts. Crime Junkie was the top show for the second year in a row and another crime show, Scamanda, was the top new show.
Apple Music Replay 2023 highlights also launched on Tuesday, and it is still weirdly a website and not something you can just see in the Music app. Replay actually exists all year round, but Apple expands it right at the end of the year. From the site, you can add a playlist with your top songs of 2023, which will actually update right through the end of the year and then live on with you in perpetuity.
(My Replay lists are never interesting, because I tend to find a few albums and songs from a few artists and play them endlessly. This is probably the fifth straight year that The 1975 reigns as my top artist, with nobody else close. My only surprise this year was that something called Dog Music was among my top selections. I have no idea what that is—it’s apparently a streaming radio station?—and while I do have a dog and I think I tried to play music for her once to reduce her separation anxiety, it’s not something I did long enough for it to make Apple’s charts. Apple’s ways are truly mysterious.)
Also also on Tuesday, Apple put out a proper press release but its new top books of 2023 list. Once again, this is a list entirely about people buying and reading in the Apple Books app.
Perhaps most notably, there’s now an Apple Music-style Year in Review feature that shows you about what you read during the year, including a profile about which one of six “reader types” you most conform to. Unlike Apple Music, the Books Year in Review feature is presented directly inside the Books app itself.
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