Skip to main content
The homepageVoxVox logo
The homepageVoxVox logo

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Now you can send your sweetie a kiss just by smooching your phone

Japanese cosmetics maker Shiseido created a mobile app to allow distant paramours to share a smooch.

by Ina Fried
Shiseido

We all love our smartphones, but would you really want to kiss your screen?

Japanese cosmetics maker Shiseido hopes so. It has a new promotion designed to let two people kiss each other by picking out one of 16 red lipstick shades and then puckering up to their smartphones.

Screenshot by Recode

The result is a morphed illustration kind of like the one below resulting from when I kissed Meghann, our engagement editor.

To kiss, users just have to visit a mobile website and then text or otherwise message a custom link to the person they want to kiss.

For those who don’t have any friends, there is a sad, small, lonely “kiss by yourself” button. (PSA: Before you kiss your screen you might want to wipe it down first.)

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

See More:

Most Popular

  1. Take a mental break with the newest Vox crossword
  2. A year of Trump is backfiring on the religious right
  3. We’re asking the wrong question about the hantavirus outbreak
  4. The real reason Americans hate the economy so much
  5. Trump’s China policy is nearly the exact opposite of what everyone expected

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh