Enjoy February 14 through an iPhone, whether you’re romantically-inclined or not
So, St. Valentine’s Day is upon us. In this modern age, the day’s evolving and people are starting to echo the sentiment: “shouldn’t you prove your love every day?” We figured we’d keep this in mind when presenting our Valentine’s Day feature this year. We’re going to take a look at some great iPhone apps that adhere to the theme, but at the same time, we don’t want this to be an advertisement for Tinder. Because, really, so many of these types of app lists either cater to those already in a relationship, or guilt-trip those that aren’t, into thinking that this is the day they need to rectify that.
In this regard, let’s all just have a little fun this Valentine’s Day. The following app suggestions are designed to enhance the Day, whether you’ve a date or not. Because, after all, do you really need to spend February 14 with a lover, when you could spend it with your iPhone?
All apps are free downloads unless otherwise stated.
Treat that special someone, or yourself with…
Etsy. It might be a familiar name in online shopping, but the Etsy app is easily forgotten – though it’s a great place to find a truly unique gift. For those that don’t know Etsy, it’s a peer-to-peer website that allows individuals to sell their wares, with a focus on handmade or vintage items.
This could include artwork, clothing, jewelry, food, beauty products, toys and loads more. As long as it isn’t a mass-produced, uniform product you’ll find something special on Etsy.
Have a revolutionary culinary experience with…
ChefsFeed. Stand down crowd-sourced review giant Yelp, move aside Yummly with your half decent, half awful recipe dumping ground, and welcome ChefsFeed. This is good food by, and according to those responsible for it.
ChefsFeed features recommendations, videos, stories and more. So whether you want to go out with a special someone, or stay at home and cook up either a one-person or group storm, get your inspiration from ChefsFeed.
Go to the movies with…
Movies by Flixster. Going to the movies is a classic activity for Valentine’s day. This year, the second Fifty Shades film is out – and with Movies by Flixster, you can let the app use your location to find various cinemas and times. Tickets can also be purchased by the app via Fandango – though that part of the app’s only available to US-users. But we think its the least important part of the app. We’re big fans of its Rotten Tomatoes integration, which is a service that collates all the reviews of a movie, assesses whether they’re positive or negative, before providing a percentage-based score. 60 percent and above is considered ‘Fresh,’ below that; ‘Rotten.’
And for all those that aren’t invested in the romance movies – whether you’re going to the movies with a current or perspective partner – you get to enjoy all the other genres in a quieter screen while the rest are ‘enjoying’ Fifty Shades of Grey. We put the word enjoying in inverted commas because according to Flixster, it only has a 12% ‘Rotten’ score. Sorry, guys.
Tell someone you care with…
TextPics. That’s using numbers, letters, and punctuation to create a simple image that can be sent via SMS. The app is free, and comes with over 1,000 TextPics, but it also currently has a great selection of romance-themed text art available as an IAP for $1. This includes simple heart designs, which is something even your mom might appreciate at any time of year.
Elsewhere things get playful and covers a range of topics including animals, food, sports and more, meaning TextPics for life, not just for Valentine’s Day.
Find Mr Right. If Mr Right is this one guy with…
Shinder. Playing off of popular dating app Tinder, Shinder’s creator Shed Simove is trying something new this Valentine’s Day by launching a dating app with just one profile. His own.
Users log in via Facebook and, just like Tinder, if both the individual and Shed swipe right, they’ll be connected. You can access Shinder at shinder.me. And okay, so it technically isn’t an iPhone app (and an antithesis of this article’s concept) but a web-based app, but it was quite honestly too ridiculous not to share when the press release showed up.
Simove is a product designer, author and performer. The man himself has described the motivation behind the app saying: “I wanted to disrupt the online dating world by giving myself a competitive advantage. By handing the decision making over to women who register on the site and reducing their option to one person to date, I’ve anticipated the scarcity of potential matches will create increased demand, and with that more chance of dating successes. I’m now a big fish in my own pond and this is a continuation of how all my creative projects work to give me a point of difference.”
No doubt Shed’s received his fair share of abuse via the function, but we’ll wish him luck in his romantic pursuits nonetheless. Watch a video all about his exploits here:
And finally, help others find happiness with…
Hatoful Boyfriend [$4.99/£4.99]. TheThe answer to the Carpenters’ famous question “Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?” could feasibly be that you’re playing Hatoful Boyfriend. Although we think the song might pre-date this bizarre iPhone game.
Okay, bear with us here. The opening blurb on the App Store relays: “Congratulations! You’ve been accepted as the only human student at the prestigious St. PigeoNation’s Institute, a school for talented birds! Roam the halls and find love in between classes as a sophomore student at the world’s greatest pigeon high school.”
The idea behind the app is, like some kind of Avian Will Smith (we all remember the Hitch movie, right?) you have to help these student birds to find love with each other. If you don’t fancy talking to any actual people this Valentine’s Day, choose Hatoful Boyfriend, and talk to a bunch of birds instead through an intriguing adventure game-style narrative.
So, there we go. Proof positive that your iPhone is the best partner on Valentine’s Day, and if anyone says otherwise, ask them if their boyfriend has a high-gloss smooth aluminum finish… or ask if their girlfriend can compute billions of nano-calculations per second… Oh, they can? Never mind then.