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The 5 Best Smartphone Apps You Should Try This Week

3 minute read
By Alexander Aciman

It seems like hundreds of new smartphone apps pop up every day, but which ones should you bother trying? Here, TIME offers a look at five apps for iPhone and Android that stand out and are worth a try.

Pennies

Although online budgeting tools like Mint have helped streamline the way many people track expenses, the genius of Pennies is that this iOS app understands how time-consuming (not to mention nerve wracking) it can be to maintain an expense file that looks like an Excel spreadsheet. The developers say Pennies works because it’s flashy and not boring, but this young app’s success may stem from the fact that it’s about as intuitive and easy-to-use as a Fisher Price toy. Gone, perhaps, are the days of daunting month-to-month graphs.

Pennies is available in the iTunes App Store for $1.99

MiFlight

A new app available only on iOS for now, MiFlight allows airline passengers to crowdsource wait times at different airports, aiming to eliminate the anxiety of arriving at an airport a few hours too soon, or worse, a few minutes too late. Passengers on line in security send their wait times, allowing the rest of us to plan ahead. Although it depends entirely on the connectivity and kindness of strangers, users may quickly understand that MiFlight is an efficient, guerrilla-style approach to circumnavigating mostly useless airline guidelines.

MiFlight is available free in the iTunes App Store.

Push

Most people have a collection of news and social media apps that will regularly send notifications to lock screens. Push allows users to aggregate notifications from various news outlets as well as curate pings from other online sources, alerting you to events like trending topics on Twitter or football scores. In short, the app turns your phone into a highly personalized news wire.

Push is available free in the iTunes App Store.

Snowball

For those who regularly use Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp or other messaging apps, Snowball, an Android app still in beta, curates notifications from these different apps onto one platform. Snowball makes sure you can keep track of different conversations in various apps, and, at the very least, that you don’t accidentally leave one conversation idle for hours before remembering to respond.

Snowball (beta) is available free in the Google Play store.

Seasonal Cities

Released a few weeks ago just in time for Fall (and Oktoberfest), Seasonal Cities is a mobile tour guide for major cities that offers new content packages every season. The recommendations in each update change depending on the weather, and the app even tailors suggestions based on the weather that week. 11 cities are on the list so far, including London, New York, Tokyo, and Paris. Guides are written by travel journalists and take different travel budgets into consideration.

Season Cities is available free in the iTunes App Store, every seasonal update will cost about $1.

PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today

A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I.
1916 A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I.Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images
French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point').
1970 French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point').Keystone/Holton/Getty Images
An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London.
1980 An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London.Kypros/Getty Images
Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work.
1983 Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on an FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work.Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images
THE A-TEAM -- "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith.
1986 THE A-TEAM "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith.Bill Dow—NBC/Getty Images
Bill Clinton, Ray Flynn
1992 Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton talks on a cell phone while meeting with Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in a New York hotel on Sept. 25.Mark Lennihan—AP
Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas.
1993 Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas.Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images
A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi.
1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi.India Today Group/Getty Images
World Trade Center Terrorist Attack.
2001 A woman watches smoke pour out of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on September 11.Nicholas Goldberg—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 2 in Ben Jawat, Libya.
2011 A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 in Ben Jawat, Libya. John Moore—Getty Images
A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo.
2011 A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo.Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images
Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida.
2012 Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Marc Serota—Getty Images
A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast.
2014 A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast. The Queen has apparently voiced her dismay that when she carries out engagements she is greeted by a sea of mobile phones.Peter Macdiarmid—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP

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