You've probably been checking your smartphone for bad news all week. And it's been there, faithfully obeying. Take a break, and reward that little glowing rectangle with these, our favorite new apps this week.
Multi-Platform Updates
YouCam Makeup
YouCam Makeup uses advanced facial recognition software to turn a selfie into a virtual makeup playground, letting you experiment with different looks and products without breaking out any brushes. By detecting your face's shapes and contours, the free app's overlays give you a realistic view of your new look, and built in tips and tutorials keep you up to date on the latest trends. [Android] [iOS]
OOLOO
Your smartphone's voice-activated virtual assistant is great for straightforward questions, but it still gets tripped up. Ooloo harnesses the original intelligence, the human kind, to answer your questions. Just hit the button to voice-record your query, and send it off to Ooloo's experts. They'll fire back an answer ASAP, any time day or night. The app is free, but it's limited to English language questions for now. [Android] [iOS]
Android
Dynamic Pin
Wanna feel like a spy, or just keep your little brother out of your Snapchats? Dynamic Pin lets you set a mathematical formula, rather than a static PIN, to unlock certain apps or your whole Android device. Say you set the pin as A+B: no matter what the matrix shows (and it'll be different each time), you just add A + B to get in. Easy for you, impossible for an over-the shoulder peeper. [Free]
Pocket Lock
Maybe your power button's broken. Maybe you've got a flip case on your Android. Maybe you just want to feel like you're living in the future. Pocket Lock locks and unlocks your screen based on either a gravity sensor (detecting when your phone goes in or comes out of your pocket), a proximity sensor (seeing when you wave your hand over the screen), or both. It's like it knows what you're doing. [Free]
Zoe [Beta]
Formerly limited to HTC devices, Zoe is now available across (nearly) all Android handsets as a public beta. It's like a video highlight reel, allowing you to capture footage, apply filters, and add a soundtrack to make the perfect little mini-montage. Plus, a Remix feature lets your friends add their footage to your Zoes (or vice versa) to create something totally unique. [Free]
iOS
Spring
Okay, so on the face of it, "Instagram for fashion brands" sounds terrible. And if you don't have much credit card restraint, it probably is, because Swarm lets you follow fashion labels for the latest updates and make purchases with a single swipe. Don't worry, you can also "fave" items without buying them right then and there. But where's the fun in that? [Free]
Humin
If you're OCD about your contact list, you won't need Humin. If, however, you've got six people named "Mike" and the random, nameless numbers of four people you met at parties in your phone, Humin is for you. The Facebook-powered app lets you put in a contextual identifier along with a name (i.e. "met at the concert in the park") to help you search out that newfound contact even after you've forgotten his or her name. Even better, it'll auto-populate contact info when you enter a new friend, clean up the contacts you've got, and tell you friends in common when you meet someone new. [Free]
Hanx Writer
This app is kind of goofy, but in the most charming way—fitting, since it sprang from the mind of Tom Hanks. Hanx Writer replaces your iPad's boring digital typing interface with the look, and sound, of an honest-to-god typewriter. The page ratchets from side to side, arms flurry, keys clack, and at the end of each line you get a satisfying "ding!" as the page returns. Send your faux-typed masterpieces via email, or pile them together into the world's most rustic e-book. [Free]
Windows Phone
Swarm
Foursquare's new location-based app joins the WinPhone world this week. Open up Swarm to see who among your friends is nearby. You can use it to check in like original FourSquare, send a message to your nearby pals, or plan a meetup for later on, all of which will be communicated with your closest (geographically speaking) friends. It's like a megaphone, but less jarring. [Free]
Blackberry BBM
Perhaps the best news to come out of Blackberry in the past several months, BBM is a great, lightweight, intuitive messaging app. And now that it's on Windows Phone, it's even better, with the ability to pin group or individual BBM conversations right to your Start screen. Plus, it's got all of the privacy, like anonymous BBM numbers and both-way opt-ins, you've come to expect from BBM. [Free]
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