App stores pick the best of 2023
AllTrails was named best app of 2023 by editors at Apple's App Store. Credit: Apple
AllTrails, a provider of trail guides for hikers, bikers, runners and walkers, was named 2023’s best app by Apple Store editors. Apple said AllTrails “nurtures community” with crowd-sourced trails that include dog-friendly, kid-friendly and wheelchair-friendly routes. There is also an AllTrails version for Android.
Editors at the Google Play Android store, meanwhile, chose Imprint: Learn Visually as its best 2023 app. The interactive education app, also available for iOS, helps users learn by breaking down complex subjects into “bite-sized pieces.” Google Play lauded the app’s use of “visual storytelling to bring concepts to life.”
As for the mobile phone game of the year, Apple and Google agreed. Both named Honkai: Star Rail, a role-playing strategy game where users explore mysterious worlds, as the best of 2023.
An old publicity photo of Long Island's Kevin James from “The King of Queens” was 2023's most-searched meme. Credit: Invision / AP / Richard Shotwell
The king of memes
Kevin James can add a new award to his collection. The Long Island comedian was the most-searched meme in 2023 on Google after an old publicity photo of James from “The King of Queens” went viral on the internet. In the photo, James has a sheepish smirk on his face, and the image has been used to illustrate various reactions on countless social media posts.
Drive-thru now accounts for about 66% of fast-food revenue, according to restaurant industry consultants Revenue Management Solutions. Credit: AP / Damian Dovarganes
Drive-thru driving sales
The pandemic is over, but consumers are still cruising to the drive-thru and shunning restaurant dining rooms for their fast-food meals. Restaurant industry consultants Revenue Management Solutions says there has been a “drastic shift” toward the drive-thru even though most fast-food restaurants have resumed in-store dining. Drive-thru now accounts for about 66% of revenue, the group says, spurred by “improved drive-thru technology.”
Apple slips on chips
Apple has fallen further behind in its multibillion-dollar effort to make an iPhone modem chip to replace an intricate component now supplied by Qualcomm, and is likely to miss a goal to ship the component by the spring of 2025. The snag reflects the daunting task Apple faces in designing its own modem, which lets phones connect to cellular networks for making calls and browsing the web. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
