With Wednesday’s news that Apple has now recorded an unbelievable 50 billion app downloads, we at The Practice thought it only right to celebrate this incredible milestone. So in honour of the humble app, we’re rounding up a few of our all-time favourites.

The eponymous date was the 11^th July 2008- the day the first ever app was downloaded, although surprisingly no one knows which one it actually was. We were also surprised to learn that it was actually Nokia, not Apple who first launched an App store. And did you know that Steve Jobs was initially reluctant to offer apps on the iPhone, fearing it might compromise security? However, it’s a good thing he was eventually swayed- apps have never generated so much revenue, and in fact, app purchases currently account for 35% of iTunes spending. The most downloaded apps of all time include Angry Birds with almost 2 billion downloads, and unsurprisingly, social platforms, with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter topping the list. The lucky person who downloaded the 50 billionth app will receive a gift card worth $10,000, equivalent to around £6580- we’re not sure we could spend that much on the iTunes store if we tried!

We at The Practice have thought long and hard about our favourites aside from unanimous choices such as Whatsapp and Temple Run- but with so many apps to choose from it’s been difficult narrowing the list down, let alone making a team decision! However, one we all agree stands out is popular app Pandora, which offers users a free personalized radio that creates custom “stations” suggesting similar songs and artists to the ones they already love. We love how spookily accurate it is at judging your musical preferences, and we’ve been introduced to a world of new tracks as a result. The only downside has got to be the somewhat intrusive display ads, but what else can we expect when we’re in the midst of a mobile marketing boom?!

As coffee lovers, we feel that the Great Coffee app deserves special mention for elevating our caffeine addiction! The app contains recipes for 18 different types of coffee drinks, including the usual Latte and Cappuccino, but also for more obscure beverages such as a Cafeccino, Marocchino, and Espresso Lungo. Developers Baglan Dosmagambetov and Alexander Nogay have also just recently updated the app to include beautifully presented video tutorials. From a creative perspective, we urge you to download the app if only for the uplifting music and lucid design that really conveys a great deal of respect for the humble bean.

Our final top pick is one we’ve used more times than we care to remember. When we’ve accidentally tripped a fuse or even needed to find something in the dark, the free Flashlight app has been a complete godsend! Needing no explanation, this brilliant app literally turns your iPhone into a complete light source, illuminating the keyboard backlight, screen and camera flash LED at maximum capacity. Sometimes the best apps really are the simplest…

Which apps, for you, have stood the test of time? Do you have a favourite or several you just couldn’t live without? We’d love to hear your top picks, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and let us know via our Facebook page.