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"With the end of 2012 comes the end to thousands of app releases this year. And out of everything we've seen over the past twelve months, we've narrowed our list of favorites down to present to you the most beautiful iOS apps of 2012.\r\n\r\nThis list not only profiles apps that are aesthetically pleasing, but also highlights apps that break the mold and help users get exactly what they need done, as quickly as possible. In short, we're taking both the user interface and the user experience into consideration.\r\n\r\nTake a look at our collection below, not presented in any specific order, and let us know in the comments if there's something we've missed.\u00A0Don\u2019t miss our other 2012 lists for more great recommendations.\r\nPaper for iPad\r\nhttp://vimeo.com/fiftythree/hellopaper\r\n\r\nSo much has been said of Paper by FiftyThree, that it feels like the app has existed for ages. Perhaps the most elegant drawing app on tablets today, Paper made its debut back in March of 2012, and has since added an innovative color mixer.\r\n\r\nMore than anything else, Paper's simplistic use of notebooks for storing drawings, its limited color palette\u00A0and organic-feeling brushes make it worth a try. While the in-app purchases have frustrated some, we can't help but find the quality worth it, as they greatly extend the app's functionality.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0Paper\u00A0for iPad (free +\u00A0in-app purchases)\r\nRechner\r\nhttp://vimeo.com/bergerfohr/rechner\r\n\r\nBack in March we proclaimed that Berger &amp;amp;amp; F\u00F6hr and Aeliox's minimalistic, gesture-powered calculator app actually managed to make math sexy. Nine months later, we stand by that statement, as Rechner continues to stand out for ditching the usual, crowded jumble of buttons for a few simple swipes and four rows of numbers.\r\n\r\nSo long as the 5 minute learning curve doesn\u2019t put you off, Rechner is very intuitive. All you need to remember is that swiping to the right is \u201C+,\u201D swiping to the left is \u201C\u2013,\u201D swiping up is \u201C=,\u201D and swiping with two fingers in any direction clears the screen. Read our full review here.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0\u00A0Rechner\u00A0for iPhone\u00A0($0.99)\r\nClear\r\nhttp://vimeo.com/51690799\r\n\r\nImpossible to ignore for its innovative user interface, Clear, made by\u00A0Impending\u00A0and\u00A0Realmac Software, broke boundaries by ditching iOS standards like buttons in favor of gestures, taps and pinching. As we detailed back in February, Clear is the type of app that makes you rethink the way that you\u2019ve been using your phone altogether, breaking the mold and re-forming it with just a few minutes of use.\r\n\r\nHow to use: To create new list items, drag down. To reorder them, tap and hold, then slide. To insert a new item between two others, pinch apart and to go \u2018back\u2019 a level, pinch inwards. Swiping left or right will check an item off or delete it. For more on Clear, read our review here.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0Clear for iPhone ($0.99), Mac ($6.99)\r\nFantastical for iPhone\r\nFor many, Fantastical's recently released iPhone app quickly replaced Apple's default calendar, just as it did on the Mac. Fantastical's no-nonsense approach, natural language parsing engine and DayTicker make it noteworthy.\r\n\r\nAs we detailed back in November, Fantastical's DayTicker feature is a ribbon-shaped display of your current day and the surrounding days, making it incredibly fast to see what you\u2019ve got coming up at a glance. Read more on Fantastical here.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0Fantastical for iPhone ($3.99)\r\nRise\r\nContinuing with our love of replacing menus and nav bars with gestures, Rise features a Clear-like approach to its design, arriving in the form of an Alarm clock. The app satisfies a basic, yet highly important need by making it simple to set alarms with two swipes of the thumb; swipe up or down to select the time and then swipe left or right to set it.\r\n\r\nSubtle details help the app shine, including the shifting gradient background which darkens at night and brightens with red hues at sunrise.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0Rise\u00A0for iPhone ($1.99)\r\nEvernote 5 for iPad\r\nhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;amp;amp;v=6PdY1c_C-Qk\r\n\r\nAlthough Evernote has existed in many forms for quite some time, Evernote 5 is a completely different animal\u2026er, elephant.\r\n\r\nThe new desktop app has certainly improved, but what really shines is Evernote's curious, new mobile navigation showing off what the company calls \u201Cviews.\u201D We think this implementation works particularly well on the iPad.\r\n\r\nAs Evernote explains, the \u201Cnew Home Screen lets you quickly jump to content in your Evernote account, making it easy to browse, search and organize notes however you like.\u201D The company\u2019s main goal with the new navigation, it seems, is to make its app more efficient, and so everything needs to be particularly speedy, while being flexible enough to allow for customization and various use cases.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0Evernote 5\u00A0for iOS (free)\r\nDimensions\r\nhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;amp;amp;v=7-caFZJ1-oM\r\n\r\nSome apps are too wild and experimental to ignore. That trait is certainly the case for RjDj's Dimensions game, which genuinely takes you to -- what feels like -- another dimension.\r\n\r\nDimensions is part game, part soundtrack for your life and part science experiment. The gameplay happens right in the middle of your own life, and reacts to your surroundings. See our full review here.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0Dimensions\u00A0for iPhone (free + in-app purchases)\r\nAnalytiks\r\nAnalytiks, an app for viewing your Google Analytics stats, almost immediately replaced my previous favorite, AnalyticsPro. If you're searching for a way to quickly view daily and monthly stats, Analytiks has managed to pack them into single, swipe-able cards -- one for each site -- with additional details viewable via a double tap and a special landscape view which lets you compare monthly views over the past 10 months.\r\n\r\nTo top it all off, Analytiks touts two separate themes, one for white iPhones and one for black.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0Analytiks\u00A0for iPhone\u00A0($1.99)\r\nSvpply\r\n\r\n\r\nWhile the top navigation bar takes a bit of getting used to, the simplistic feed and color-coded shop view make Svpply's iPhone app impressive. Add in the fact that nearly every picture on the now eBay-owned network features gorgeous designs, and you have a beautiful app worth exploring.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0Svpply\u00A0for iPhone (free)\r\nWunderlist 2\r\nhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhYruJX4ek8&amp;amp;amp;feature=player_embedded\r\n\r\nEffortlessly pulling off skeuomorphism better than Apple does in many instances, to-do list service Wunderlist 2 is simple when you need it to be, but lets the GTD (Get Things Done) obsessed dive into the details when the situation calls for it.\r\n\r\nImpressive but subtle details include the customizable background and the way different pages overlap (try opening the settings). Best of all, the service seamlessly works across iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac and Web.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0Wunderlist 2\u00A0for iPhone,\u00A0Android,\u00A0Windows,\u00A0Mac\u00A0and\u00A0Web\u00A0(free)\r\nGoogle Maps for iOS\r\nhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&amp;amp;amp;v=KEz1sSKCpIc\r\n\r\nThe return of Google maps to iOS 6 was exciting enough to cheer over for many iPhone owners, but the sheer utility of accurate maps isn't the only thing that makes this release noteworthy. Google managed to out simplify Apple, a king of minimalism, while creating a brisk and attractive solution.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0Google Maps for iOS (free)\r\nBackspaces\r\nAlthough it follows many standard design conventions, Backspaces does two things right: it makes me not hate photosharing by turning casual pics into storytelling; and it packs subtle details that make me smile, like the space background, which appears when you pull down to refresh.\r\nWe were the first to highlight Backspaces upon its launch in August 2012 (I snagged the username &amp;quot;H&amp;quot;), and we've watched closely as the service continues to evolve. Expect more exciting things to come from these guys soon.\r\n\r\n\u27A4\u00A0Backspaces\u00A0for iPhone (free)\r\nRunner Ups:\r\nPlenty of other awesome apps didn't make our list, largely because many made their mark before 2012. Here's 11 more favorites of ours worth checking out (if you haven't already):\u00A0iA Writer,\u00A0Omm Writer,\u00A0Google+, Static,\u00A0Figure,\u00A0Path,\u00A0Lovely,\u00A0Etsy,\u00A0Vimeo,\u00A0Readability\u00A0and\u00A0What Should I Tip?\r\n\r\nDisclosure: This article contains affiliate links. While we only ever write about products we think deserve to be on the pages of our site, The Next Web may earn a small commission if you click through and buy the product in question. For more information, please see our\u00A0Terms of Service."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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