A new app, Locket, has risen to the top of Apple's App Store charts over the past few days and I hate it.
Here's how it works: You download the app, and follow the directions to add it as a widget to your iPhone's home screen. Then you give the app all of your contacts, invite friends to join you, and take photos that are directly displayed on your friends' home screen. Basically, Locket turns your home screen into a private little messaging platform between you and whichever one of your friends you can convince to join you. There's currently no version of the app for Android.
Prime Day deals you can shop right now
Products available for purchase here through affiliate links are selected by our merchandising team. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.iRobot Roomba Combo i3+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum and Mop—$329.99(List Price $599.99)
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9" 64GB Wi-Fi Tablet—$178.99(List Price $219.99)
Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen With MagSafe USB-C Charging Case—$189.99(List Price $249.00)
Eero 6 Dual-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (Router + 2 Extenders)—$149.99(List Price $199.99)
Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS, 41mm, Midnight, S/M, Sports Band)—$299.00(List Price $399.00)
Matt Moss, a UCSB grad who is building Hawkeye, a tool that will allow you to control your phone using just your eyes, created the app and told TechCrunchthat it was a fun little side project of his.
"I built it as a present for my girlfriend for her birthday last summer," Moss told TechCrunch. "She was going back to school in the fall, so we were about to start a long-distance relationship. The process of getting a little photo from her on my home screen … seemed really appealing. Just a nice way to stay in touch."
I downloaded it and realized that out of the more than two million people who downloaded the app, not one of them was a contact of mine, so I had my long-distance best friend try it out with me. I could easily add the widget to my home screen but Dani couldn't — it was just in app form, which sort of ruins the whole reason to have the app. She turned her phone off and on again and it still wasn't working, so she updated her phone and, still, it didn't work. Finally, she deleted the app and redownloaded it, which seemed to work for her. Not great!
Mashable Light SpeedWant more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories?Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter.By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Thanks for signing up! My phone on the left, with a photo Dani sent me of her bunny. Her phone on the right, with a photo I sent of my cat.Credit: Screenshot Christianna Silva, Dani HamreShe's not the only user who ran into some technical issues while using the app. The free app has just a 3.4-star our of 5-star rating on the app store exactly because some users had trouble making the widget work.
Dani said she wouldn't use it because it wasn't worth the trouble.
"Cool idea to share an album with friends of like memes and stuff you can upload, but since you have to take a picture [and can't just upload from your photo collection] it’s like a glorified Snapchat," she texted me, later adding: "With today’s men I would be too scared to have a random widget of a [photo he sent] on my Home Screen."
It is kind of reminiscent of Snapchat, except that this app is on your home screen and all of your pics open immediately and everyone else around you can see it and you cannot change the photo until someone sends another one. As someone who frequently finds my own eyes snooping on strangers' phones in practically any public place, this makes me very nervous.
Moss seems aware of the similarities between his app and others but said the difference lies in the number of people you communicate with on the app.
"You end up with these huge social circles on the app — where you have 1,000 friends on Instagram, or you have to send Snapchats back and forth with your 100 closest friends — which actually takes a lot of effort at the end of the day," he told TechCrunch. “So the idea of making something that’s more geared towards those five closest people, or those 10 closest people, and then providing a way to make your phone feel more personal and geared towards people instead of these apps — I think there’s a real appetite for that."
And maybe there is! This could be the perfect app for you. But for Dani and me, it's simply not filling a void.
顶: 4948踩: 9145
Locket app will put your face on your friends' home screen
人参与 | 时间:2024-09-23 03:11:51
相关文章
- 3D Game Rendering 101
- Citymapper might be better than Google Maps. It just came to 17 more cities.
- The Trump administration objects to Europeans buying weapons from their own countries.
- AI robots deployed to fill void in senior care. But can they?
- South Korean lawmakers brace for US election as Harris, Trump diverge on North Korea
- Yoshida fires World Cup warning after Japan 'fell apart'
- N. Korea fires several missiles into East Sea; analysis underway
- The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition features flagship specs for a more affordable price
- Which iPad Model Is Right for You?
- 'Doom Patrol's Madame Rouge is the mystery that keeps on giving
评论专区