Apple Weekly News Roundup: Year's Best Apps, iPhone 6s Mini and More

With 2014 drawing to a close, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) last week released its annual top apps lists. The three categories, Top 10 Paid Apps 2014, Top 10 Free Apps 2014 and Top 10 Highest Grossing Apps 2014, were topped by Heads Up!, Facebook Messenger and Clash of Clans respectively. Nine of the top ten highest grossing apps were "freemium" games, meaning they are free but offer in-app purchases.

Apple news round up: Tim Cook named best CEO of 2014

According to the results of a Piper Jaffray survey that were released last week, demand for the iPhone 6 is higher now than it was pre-launch. Of the 1,004 consumers surveyed in December, 40 percent indicated that they were interested in purchasing the new iPhone. A similar survey conducted pre-launch showed 33 percent interest.

Last Tuesday, CNN Money named Tim Cook the best CEO of 2014. The publication described his position as "arguably the toughest CEO job in America" and cited Apple's 40% stock increase this year, due to the iPhone 6 and Apple Pay launches (plus considerable interest in the as yet unreleased Apple Watch), as its main reason for selecting Cook.

A rumor emerged last week of a possible iPhone 6s mini, a 4 inch handset that would launch alongside of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, most likely next Fall.

Last Monday, Apple launched iTunes Tumblr in an effort to increase its social media presence. Currently, the page has various iTunes categories including music, iBooks, movies and TV and a "Best of 2014" video for each category.

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