Today, let us give thanks — for touchscreens, for mobile web, for the ability to constantly be distracted by a fiveish-inch thing that fits in our pockets and never says no. Here's the best apps you can download this week and hide under your napkin next Thursday.
Multi-Platform Updates
This new update is all about searching. You can search for tweets with pictures, videos, and updates from only the people you follow. Plus, the Discover tab adds filters to find chatter about TV shows and events happening in your area. [Android] [iOS]
Android
Google Play Newsstand
Combining the former Google Play Magazine and Currents apps into one, Newsstand puts your online news and magazine subscriptions alongside a suggested reading list that surfaces content, Flipboard style. Unlike Flipboard, though, this one tries tempting you with free trials of subscription-only content like The New York Times. [Free]
Google Translate
This week's updates bring faster speech translation that understands conversational talking, and seamless switching between two different languages for on-the-fly translation. It also adds a whole slew of new languages and tunes up photo-translation, so you can travel even further into the unknown world without knowing a lick of the local tongue. [Free]
Injustice: Gods Among Us
This collectible card game pits the legends of DC Comics in touch-based 3 vs 3 combat. With unlockable content for PS3 and Xbox 360 users, the popular iOS game arrived today on Android, with stunning graphics worthy of a hero's (or villain's) lair. [Free]
iOS
Dropbox
Revamped for iOS 7, Dropbox adds AirDrop support for quick link and file sharing between fancy new iPhone users. It also promises faster navigation and fewer crashes, and easier PDF viewing. [Free]
Potluck 2.0
When Potluck first came out, it promised to foster discussion around articles the way you might observe at a smart people dinner party. Version 2.0 is almost entirely different, presenting news stories in three-swipe blips that look a lot like Tinder, and encouraging you to chat with your Facebook friends to chat about what you've just briefly read. [Free]
Tumblr
Fully refreshed for iOS 7, Tumblr has made a dedicated Activity tab to help you keep track of reblogs, likes and comments. A new image upload screen, a fast reblog button and a drop down schedule calendar all make for quicker, smoother GIF sharing. [Free]
Windows Phone
Xbox One SmartGlass
Hot on the heels of the new Xbox One, this app lets you navigate the console using your touchscreen when you're in the same room as your system, and use your TV as a second screen for web browsing on your phone. When you're not in your living room, you can browse and pin content for later console viewing. [Free]
Amid the excitement about a real, non-workaround Instagram WP app, there was some confusion about whether or not you could snap a picture in-app. The good news is, you can, but in-app video shooting isn't here yet. This is technically still a beta, but it's the genuine article, baby. [Free]
Waze
This smart, crowdsourced real-time traffic app self-updates based on whether users are cruising open roads or caught bumper-to-bumper. New to WP this week, Waze even lets you send real-time ETA and location messages to the person you're meeting, and the app shuts itself off when you're no longer driving so GPS doesn't suck up all your battery. [Free]