Check out Google’s new experimental photography apps for iOS

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Selfissimo and scrubbies
Selfissimo! is one of Google's new experimental iOS photo apps.
Photo: Google

Google launched a clutch of “experimental” photography apps for iOS and Android this week. The ones of interest to us are called Selfissimo! and Scrubbies. They’re both single-purpose apps, and they’re both free. What’s more, the two apps are also a lot of fun.

Selfissimo! self-portrait app

Selfissimo photo app is like having a virtual photographer stroking your ego
Like having a virtual photographer stroking your ego.
Photo: Google

My favorite of the two is Selfissimo!, which is an automatic selfie app. I don’t really take selfies — I already know what I look like — but the app looks like a lot of fun. Launch the app, and it’ll watch for movement. Strike a pose, and when the app detects that you have stopped moving, it’ll snap a photo. Shift to another pose and the process repeats.

It’s a little like having a photographer shoot you, only the photographer is a computer, so you can’t embarrass yourself. The app even encourages you by flashing words onto the screen every once in a while (and in the settings, you can toggle “Show Compliments” on and off if you like). If nothing else, you’re going to end up with much more interesting selfies as you explore different poses. Selfissimo! comes for iPhone and iPad.

Price: Free

Download: Selfissimo! from the App Store (iOS)

Scrubbies video app

scrubbies
Scratch your videos like a DJ.
Photo: Google

Scrubbies lets you “scratch” a video like a DJ would scratch a record. Scrub back and forth on the screen, at any speed, and the video loops back and forth, following your movements. You can record it as you go, so your gestures are actually saved into the clip, and it plays back the same way every time.

Price: Free

Download: Scrubbies from the App Store (iOS)

Google’s experimental photo apps

I love these little experimental apps (although I hate that Google calls them appsperiments). After all, who needs a huge, fancy, over-designed app just to execute one neat little idea?. These little single-serve apps are perfect for the iPhone. You just launch them, and you’re off. Hopefully Google’s research team will keep these coming.

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