The Best iPhone Apps Worth Downloading This Week

December 10, 2014 8:00 AM EST

It seems like hundreds of new iPhone apps pop up every week, but which ones should you bother trying? We explored the App Store and found five apps actually worth downloading.

Wire

Backed by Skype’s co-founder, Wire combines social networking with basic telecommunication. You can place calls through the app as well as send text messages, but Wire also allows users to share photos and clips from YouTube, as well as link the app to their desktop.

Although video chat is not yet offered on Wire, it seems logical that a marriage with Skype or another video conference client is around the corner. Think of wire as an intelligent, practical version of WUPHF from The Office.

Wire is available free in the App Store.

Snipboard

Snipboard is more or less exactly what it sounds like: A placeholder for the iPhone’s lack of an autocomplete function. The app allows you to copy frequently-used bits of text—from an address for mobile shopping to an email template you end up typing out several times a day—and lets you paste it into other apps. Snipboard is used as a keyboard extension in your text box (sort of like emoji).

Snipboard is available free in the App Store.

PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today

**1916** A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I.Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images

**1970** French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point').Keystone/Holton/Getty Images

**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

**1993** Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas.Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images

**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

**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

**2012** Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Marc Serota—Getty Images

**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

Hanx Writer

A popular “little-known fact” about Tom Hanks is that he is obsessed with typewriters. From this fascination came his typewriter app, “Hanx,” for iPad. Recently released for iPhone, however, the app is as fun as it is useless. It allows users to take notes as the app plunks out each letter, imitating the sound of a typewriter.

The documents can then be shared and emailed around to contacts. Files can even be turned into PDFs. Hanx can even be used in other apps, like iPhone’s Notes app. It makes tedious digital chores a lot less tedious. And who can resist the charm of an old-school typewriter and Tom Hanks?

Hanx Writer is available free in the App Store.

Bop.fm

Although Bop.fm launched as a website not long ago, the new iOS app brings another dimension to the music streaming client. It combines Spotify, YouTube, and SoundCloud, among others, into a single app.

With minimal ads, Bop does a great job of creating an easy-to-use app that, surprisingly, doesn’t look like the Clown Car of different apps that it truly is. You’re presented with one, streamlined interface. So, in short, Taylor Swift may have pulled out of Spotify, but you can still stream her music as though she hadn’t.

Bop.fm is available free in the App Store.

Hoods

Although FourSquare’s most recent update took the app from the check-in game that it was for so many years to a more finely-tuned recommendation app, Hoods takes that information to yet another step. It can identify which neighborhood of a city you’ve entered (a function even offered in your notification center), and boils down info from FourSquare to inform users which activities are most popular in that particular neighborhood.

Hoods is available for $0.99 in the App Store.

The Best iPhone Apps You Should Download This Week

PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today

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