Welcome to the 354th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from the past week:
- Google accidentally published an app in the US and immediately shut it down. The app is originally for people in Kenya. It helps them borrow Android devices and gives creditors the option to shut down the phone if payments are suspended. Google worked with companies in the country for the program, and it looks dodgy without context. Click the link to learn more.
- Spotify is considering a subscription level for podcasts only. The company has spent a ton of money on podcast talent over the past year and is looking to make a few dollars off podcasts. Spotify asks users if they would like something like this. If their results are anything like ours, this will not see the light of day. Most of our readers hate the idea and we don't blame them. You can get most of the podcasts for free with most of the podcast catchers.
- YouTube Premium subscribers can get a free Google Stadia swag this week. Google offers subscribers a free controller and Chromecast. It's a good move from Google to promote the service and bring out some Stadia controllers. The offer also includes a free month of Stadia. Click the link to learn how to redeem the offer.
- PUBG Mobile returns to India. The new version of the game is special for the country and has some changes from the vanilla version. For example, all characters start out clothed and the blood is instead removed for green hit effects. PUBG Corporation also pledged to donate $ 100 million to India to help promote sports, the local video game industry, and more. You can click the link to learn more.
- Google Photos will close its free doors next summer. The company announced that it just can't keep up with demand and that people will have to pay for the storage they use after June 1, 2021. All photos uploaded to the service up to then are still free and the photos previously available in the service remain free. Then Google Photos will use your 15GB of free Google Drive data. Then you'll have to pay for a Google One plan to expand your own storage. Current Google Pixel devices can keep the free uploads, but future Pixel devices cannot. With that in mind, here are the best microSD cards currently available.
Reborn immortal
Price: Play for free
Immortal Reborn is an idle RPG with a Diablo theme and few graphics. It's mostly a text adventure where you customize your character to kill as many bad guys as possible. There are four classes of doing different things and equipping different equipment. The game features idle, simple controls, and simple mechanics. The game's pronunciation is a bit strange at times, but nothing serious. It's longer than average for an idle game and has a lot more RPG elements in it than most.
Bookmark manager
Price: $ 0.99
The Bookmark Manager allows you to manage bookmarks independently of your web browser. There are several scenarios in which such a tool can be useful. You can save bookmarks, organize them the way you want, and refer to them when you need them. Most users don't need such a tool and just use Firefox or Chrome as these bookmarks are synced. You can also export your bookmarks and import them to a new device later if necessary. This is a reasonably decent solution for people who are turning off mainstream browsers and need a better way to manage bookmarks. However, by and large, this is a niche tool. It's in the early beta phase, so bugs may occur.
Goddess of Genesis S.
Price: Free
Goddess of Genesis S is a new gacha role-playing game. The game is pretty standard in terms of the underlying mechanics. You summon heroes and use them to progress through the game. Combat is turn-based and each character can be upgraded in different ways. This one offers surprisingly decent graphics. You can apparently also upgrade each character to maximum ranks so that there aren't too many bad moves. It's reasonably free to play for now, but the long-term grind can scare away some players.
Continue to play
Price: Free
GameOn is a new app from Amazon that records your video games. The app has direct support for around 1,000 Android games, including some strong players like PUBG Mobile and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. Additionally, it can record anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes of past play time as a kind of callback feature, or you can choose to record in five-minute segments. You then upload those videos and people can watch them. It's set up similar to TikTok, where the videos should be short and show cool moments rather than long game sessions. The app also has challenges to overcome and of course you can watch other people's videos. It's brand new and is likely to change a lot in the months and years to come.
Underworld office
Price: Free / Up to $ 2.99
Underworld Office is the newest game from Buff Studio, developers of 7Days and Buff Knight. This is an interactive story game about a boy who falls into the underworld and eventually has to work there. You play through different stories about ghosts. The choices you make can bring you to one of seven ends. There are also 40 short animations and various collectibles for completers. The game is also relatively cheap for a free game. This one has a 4.9 out of 5 rating on the Play Store for a reason because it's actually pretty good.
Thank you for reading! Check out these too:If we missed any major Android apps or game news, let us know in the comments!
