Sometimes an explanation requires more than just words.
A new iPhone app called Shadow Puppet lets users generate narrated tutorial videos or photo slideshows straight from their phone.
See also: Top 25 Free iPhone Apps of All Time
Users simply select images from their library, arrange them in the order they wish to share them, and use the phone's voice recorder to narrate the slideshow as it plays. They can then share the videos — called Puppets — straight to social media, or send them to family and friends via text or email. Users can also embed their Puppet videos onto personal blogs or websites.
The app launched last week along with Apple's iOS 7 update, but was actually built by co-founders Carl Sjogreen and Adrian Graham back in April. The duo said they wanted to build something that was useful, but also practical, and hopes that people can use puppets to share personal moments as often as they share how-to videos. For example, Sjogreen's daughters use the app to narrate photo slideshows they send to their grandmother. "We've heard from people that Shadow Puppet is about making it easier to tell the stories behind their photos and stay connected with friends and families in ways they couldn't do before," he said.

Prior to Shadow Puppet, Sjogreen and Graham worked at Google before starting a travel startup known as Nextstop that was acquired by Facebook in 2010. Their past experience encouraged them to "keep things simple," they said. When creating their slideshow app, the duo wanted a name that was synonymous with storytelling and using your hands — hence, Shadow Puppet.
For now, the app is only available on iOS, although an Android version could be on the horizon. Users can't currently incorporate video or music for iTunes, although some have been playing music in the background while narrating their stories, Sjogreen said.
Even if you don't think you need another weather app, give Perfect Weather from Contrast a look.
Unlike many other weather apps, Perfect Weather offers a minimalist experience, seven-day forecast and radar data.
The maps are animated, and the app looks perfectly at home on iOS 7.
Perfect Weather is $2.99.
Starwood -- home of such brands as Sheraton Hotels, W Hotels and St. Regis Hotels -- updated its SPG app to support the iPad, giving users a great way to do one-click bookings, and to find restaurants and activities after a trip begins.
Beyond just adding iPad support, Starwood went all in on iOS 7, making use of AirDrop, parallax backgrounds and many of the new APIs offered by the latest OS.
The result is an app that is beautiful and fast. If you have an iPad, this is worth the download just to look through the beautiful resort pictures.
Clear was one of our favorite iPhone apps of 2012. This year, it has a more refined iOS 7 design, and it supports the iPad.
If you want a simple to-do list with finesse and iCloud support, Clear is even better now.
Clear is $2.99 for iPad and iPhone.
Camera+ is easily one of the best camera apps in the App Store. More than 10 million copies have been sold, and the latest version includes an updated interface for iOS 7.
There are also some great new share modes, including Dropbox and Instagram.
Camera+ is $1.99.
The original Twitter client updated for iOS 7, and is now better than ever. The UI is updated for iOS 7, and has a new dark theme straight out of Tron: Legacy.
Twitterrific is $2.99.
Pocket Casts is a great podcasting app that works on iPhone and iPad. Version 4.0 was designed to look great on iOS 7, and we love the aesthetic and playback controls.
For $3.99, Pocket Casts is a great option for anyone who isn't in love with Apple's Podcasts app, and wants more features, the ability to sync with other devices (including Android) and frequent feature updates.
For anyone who needs a great scientific calculator, PCalc is a fantastic app. The latest version includes an iOS 7 theme for both iPhone and iPad.
PCalc also includes a built-in converter for tons of different values, and you can even create your own.
At $9.99, PCalc isn't the cheapest app, but it's one of the best calculators out there.
If you want something more basic, PCalc Lite is free, and has the same great look and feel.
If you've ever had a hard time keeping your Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Apple contacts synced and without duplicates, Cobook Contacts is a great solution.
You can use it by itself, but it's best paired with its excellent Mac companion.
My favorite part is how easy it is to pull in social information from various sources into one contact card.
The new look is very iOS 7, down to the transparent overlays and text. Cobook Contacts if free, although some add-ons cost money.
GetGlue is a great second-screen app for checking into your favorite TV show or movie; it is also an excellent alternative TV Guide.
The company updated its iPhone app earlier this month in preparation for iOS 7, and made some final changes to make the app fully at home on the new OS.
GetGlue is free.
About.me's founders bought the company back from AOL in February, and have been hard at work looking at the next generation of the service and its mobile app.
Now, the mobile app is not only styled to look at home on iOS 7, it's also focused on helping the user get more personalized and relevant information about themselves. Rather than just aggregating other content streams, About.me is now starting to contextualize that content in its own ecosystem.
Camera Noir is one of those photo apps that does just one thing -- in this case, it takes black-and-white photos incredibly well.
The app always had an iOS 7 friendly aesthetic, but the design is now tweaked to be perfectly at home. If you love black-and-white photography, Camera Noir is one of the best apps you can use to get great shots.
Camera Noir is $1.99.
Hipmunk is a great service for finding hotels or airlines, sorted by "agony," and makes it easy to pinpoint price and location.
The new interface is perfectly in line with iOS 7, and now even easier to use and view.
Before Instagram, there was Hipstamatic, a camera that goes beyond just applying a prebuilt filter to a photo you take, and actually applies the filter to the photo as it's taken.
It's the perfect incarnation of the Holga-style toy cameras. The app was redesigned for iOS 7, and looks great. The little touches of whimsy are still there, but everything looks much more at home.
We can't wait to try it with the iPhone 5S.
Hipstamatic is $0.99.
Another podcasting app got a big iOS 7 update, and this time, it's the popular player, Instacast.
Instacast is known for having a very minimal UI, and the new version has been further refined for iOS 7.
Instacast works on iPhone and iPad and is $4.99.
When Marco Arment sold Instapaper to Betaworks, some longtime users such as myself were worried about the future for the read-later service.
Fortunately, those fears were unfounded. The Betaworks team did a great job updating the UI for Instapaper, improving the parser and the ways the folders work. It's also awesome to see the app share the same design language as Digg for iOS.
Instapaper is $3.99
Mail Pilot started its life as a Kickstarter project, designed around the idea of making a better email client for managing mail.
The app is designed to help users quickly sort through their inbox, marking things as "dealt with," saving them for later or assigning them to a specific task.
It works with all IMAP servers, and now has a great new iOS 7 interface. I was a Mail Pilot backer on Kickstarter, and love seeing the app progress and improve.
Mail Pilot is a serious email app, and as a result, it has a serious price. The app is $14.99 and works on iPhone and iPad.
Simplenote was one of the first note-syncing apps to hit iOS back in 2008. Today, Simplenote is getting a massive visual update, a better tagging system and a new Mac app.
Simplenote is free.
The original Reeder was the Google Reader app for iOS. No other RSS client -- especially on iPhone -- could come close to its elegance and interface. Now there's Reeder 2, an app for iPhone and iPad that supports Feedly, Feedbin, Feed Wrangler and Fever. It also acts as a full Readability client, and supports sharing to a dozen different services. The new Reeder was updated for iOS 7, and carries on its distinctive feel, modernized only for the new OS. It's a joy to use and read. Reeder 2 is $4.99.
SeatGeek is a great app for locating concert, sporting or special-event tickets in your area, with an emphasis on the seating chart.
The new app is totally at home on iOS 7, and includes great new venue and event details.
SeatGeek is free.
The original TiltShiftGen was one of the best early photo apps for iPhone.
TiltShiftGen2 was built for iOS 7, and sports an updated interface, more options for color, tone and tilt shift, as well as tons of export options.
At $0.99, TiltShiftGen2 is a must for any photo lovers toolbox.
Image: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images