Welcome to the 467th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from the past week:
- We had some good wallpapers this week. First, you can get six of the Asus ROG Phone 6 wallpapers and one of them is a live wallpaper. They look pretty good and are high resolution so should work on most phones. Also, our latest Wallpaper Wednesday came up with some nice nature and cityscape images.
- Google is updating Google Maps this week on Wear OS. The app now has turn-by-turn navigation on Wear OS without the need for the full smartphone app. After updating, you should be able to use your voice or keyboard to find a destination, and the app will handle the rest.
- Android 13’s QPR2 update added 20 new emojis to Pixel phones. The update brought support for Unicode 15, which included the new emoticons. There’s nothing else to it, but you might see the new emoticons in apps now that it’s available on the phone.
- Google Extensions SDK launched recently. The new SDK allows developers to add newer features to older versions of Android. This helps make getting the latest version less of a chore and people with older devices still have access to new stuff. Apps with this should start rolling out this year or next.
- WhatsApp now lets you bypass internet crackdowns. The app recently received proxy support in an update. You can access it in the Settings menu under Storage & Data. It doesn’t work if the internet connection is completely disconnected, but it can bypass the firewall without much difficulty.
- The dispute between Google and Apple about RCS continues in 2023. The company bought a huge billboard in Las Vegas during CES. The video ad accused Apple of dropping the ball and even had sample code to help integrate RCS into iMessage. Click on the link to view the full billboard video.
Dominio Dreams
Price: Free to play
Domino Dreams is a puzzle game that features dominoes. The game involves matching tiles on the board with tiles in your hand. You progress by clearing each board and advancing to the next level. The game features over 1000 levels and a secondary mechanic where you build a kingdom. We think the game’s 4.8 rating on Google Play is a bit over the top for what it offers, but it’s not a bad time killer for casual puzzle fans.
Copyist
Price: Free / $59.99
Copyist is a content creation tool for bloggers. It has dozens of tools, including an article generator, a blog post writer, and even a section where you can get blog ideas. The main function is an AI tool that records things. It does a good job, but we still think people can do it better. However, we may be biased in this regard. Small bloggers can definitely find a use for an app like this, even if it’s a bit of a niche product.
KartRider: Drift
Price: Free to play
KartRider: Drift is the latest game in the popular KartRider series. The game is a kart racer similar to games like Mario Kart. The game pits you against seven other racers and you use different power-ups and driving skills to get to the finish line first. This version of the game also includes several different game modes, customization options and you can choose your character. The game runs pretty well and should compete well in the go-kart space. Most of its bad reviews come from people who pre-downloaded the game before it went live, but didn’t know you couldn’t physically play it yet.
Food diary
Price: Free / $1.49 per month / $10.99 per year / $17.99 one time
Food Log Journal is exactly what the title implies. It allows you to log your meals and snacks in a simple yet effective way. You can use it to track your diet so you can make changes if needed. You can use the tools in different ways. For example, I don’t eat breakfast, so I hid that part of the app and it allowed me to do that. It’s not the most modern UI design we’ve ever seen, but it works effectively. We also like that there’s a one-time payment option in addition to the usual subscription model. That always gets bonus points from us.
Cat snack bar
Price: Free to play
Cat Snack Bar is a restaurant simulation with a bunch of fat little cats. It’s a pretty simple overall experience. You take orders from customers, prepare their meals, earn money and use the money to upgrade your restaurant. It’s a game cycle we’re quite familiar with. It uses an incremental game feature where your business resets when you upgrade it. This is something fans of idle games will know about, but non-idle fans won’t. In any case, it’s a cute little game that works well for killing time.
If we’ve missed any good Android apps and games released this week, tell us about them in the comments. Thank you for reading. Also try these:
Comments
Add Comment