Welcome to the 437th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are last week’s big headlines:
- WhatsApp had a couple of announcements this week. Now you can control who can see your profile or not This is obviously a security feature, and you can click on the link to learn more about it Additionally, you can now transfer data directly from your Android phone to your iPhone, and this helps people who are switching from one to the other.
- We asked our viewers if they use any app store other than Google Play. Most of our readers do not. That part was predictable. However, 48% of our readers actually use the Alternative App Store. This is a bit more than expected. Hit the link to see the poll.
- Google dropped Android 13 Beta 3.1 this past week. It wasn’t a scheduled drop and it looks like a bug fix This enables the feedback app for people who don’t have it There was a second rollout a week later to fix some more bug issues, including the back button not working properly.
- Samsung has once again been the victim of benchmark fraud. This time, it’s for the TV benchmark. The company’s TV juices are specifically for benchmarking their color and brightness, so the numbers look even better. Samsung has said it will update the TVs to fix it The company has also announced a Samsung Wallet, an apparent upgrade to the Samsung Pay. It supports payments as always but also includes support for digital car keys with cryptocurrency investments.
- Adobe is working on making the web version of Photoshop free for everyone. This can be a big deal for Chromecast users who don’t have a full Photoshop version Adobe is now testing it in Canada. We’ll see if they can continue.
Arterial Gear: Fusion
Price: The game is free
Arterial Gear: Fusion is a mobile RPG with plant components. It sounds like a pretty simple mobile RPG, but the tree elements are like Epic Seven or Azure Lane. All the characters are make girls, and this is an incredibly popular basis. The mechanics are pretty easy to grasp. In particular, the fight is pretty good. Players have the ability to tune their auto-batting to prevent the use of excessive resources and we like it a lot. You get simple things like banners, different characters to draw, PvP and much more. You can interact with your character a little more than your standard tree. There are possibilities, but to really enjoy it you have to be in the whole Chibi thing.
Calendar notification
Price: Free / 99 4.99
Calendar Notifications lets you view your calendar and agenda as a permanent notification in your Notifications panel. It lets you look like a whole month or a day. You’ll also find some customization options, though not much. In short, it basically puts a widget in your notifications. Of course, its usability is limited, and you really have to rely on your calendar for it to work. Fortunately, it’s not too expensive and you can try it before you buy it.
Kingdom Maker
Price: The game is free
Kingdom Maker is a strategy game where you run a kingdom. That includes building, fighting, and all that stuff. It actually has a story where you fight the bad guys and defend your kingdom. In addition, there are upgrades to unlock, and the building lets you do a bunch of different things. It has a lot of potential, especially since it reminds me of the old state builders. A common complaint is the amount of time it takes to do something and the upgrades can last forever It’s flawed, but there’s nothing seriously wrong with it.
Glimesh: Live streaming
Price: Free
Glimesh is a live streaming service that seeks to focus on interaction and discoverability. You can stream lots of things including gaming, art and music. You can even hang out and chat with your followers if you want. The company is also part of the Open Company Initiative for Transparency. If you stream from PC, it works with OBS. There aren’t many people out there yet, but it’s possible.
Ensemble Star Music
Price: The game is free
Ensemble Star Music is a new rhythmic game with some possibilities. The game has a story similar to many mobile rhythm games, but people look for mechanics, so let’s talk about them. The UI has a half-moon shape where you tap on one of the seven nodes to hit the note. There is tapping and holding with double tap and swipe. Some songs are quite simple, but as you play it ramps up into difficulty. Free-to-play elements aren’t friendly, and we don’t really like it when games have different “premium” gems, unlike regular, in-game gems. Although the story and mechanics are good, you can have a good time as long as you can pass the free-to-play stuff.
If we miss any big Android apps or game news, let us know in the comments.
Thank you for reading. Also try:
