by Welcome to the 457th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the headlines from the past week:
- The EU Digital Markets Act is entering a six-month implementation phase. Basically, if a company is identified as a gatekeeper, it must open up its services and platforms. Some apps and services may need to be changed, including Google Play, iMessage, and others. Keep an eye out and let’s see what happens.
- Google is expanding its Play Games beta on PC. The expansion opens the beta to the United States, Canada, Mexico, and five other countries. It is currently available for 85 games through the Windows app. It’s nice to see Google striving to improve Android apps on PC.
- Matter went official this week at a launch event in Amsterdam. This is a big deal because Matter is set to dramatically improve interoperability between smart home technologies. There is not much to report at this time. However, we should start to see Matter making its way into existing technology in the near future. Currently, more than 190 certifications are currently in circulation.
- Elon Musk makes changes on Twitter. Along with layoffs, it’s also offering the famous blue tick for $8 a month to anyone who wants to pay for it. Since we’re only anticipating public figures wanting the tick anyway, we don’t know how much this will or will not help Twitter’s results. Click on the link to find out more.
- Netflix’s cheaper plan already has some hiccups. The new ad-supported plan only works on certain devices. For example, it does not support classic Chromecast devices. It only works on Chromecast with Google TV. Likewise, it works well on Amazon Fire devices, but not on Apple TV devices. You might want to consider it if you are considering getting the new ad-supported plan.
- Google Hangouts is officially dead. The application stopped on November 1, within the deadlines announced by Google. All Google Hangouts now redirects to Google Chat, and the web app was the last way to access the original Google Hangouts. We knew this was coming, and we’ve already written a eulogy for it.
The past inside
Price: $2.99
The inner past is something unique. It’s a cooperative game where you and a friend solve puzzles to advance the story. One person plays in the past and the other plays in the future. Together, you find the solutions to the puzzles. The game is cross-platform and you should be able to complete it in around two to four hours. The developers are also making the Rusty Lake series, which we’ve loved for years. It’s cheap and there are no microtransactions to spoil things.
Neeva Browser
Price: Free
Neeva Browser offers a private and ad-free browsing experience. It does this by filtering search results to remove ads, improves browsing speed by removing ads, and more. The app also lets you sync your email, calendar, and documents. Once done, you can also use the search bar to browse them. It reminds us a bit of Ghostery, where you can even count the number of trackers watching you. In terms of usability, it’s a decent mobile browser, but it’s super basic and doesn’t have the same number of features as the big dogs in this space.
Neko Golf
Price: free to play
Neko Golf is an anime-themed golf game. It offers a variety of online PvP tournaments that can win you in-game prizes. Mechanically, it’s pretty solid. You have to swipe and tap to get your photo just right. It’s one of those things where it’s easy to learn but takes a while to master. There are also things that can happen if your finger movements aren’t correct, leading to some interesting results. It’s not the deepest game and the online multiplayer is not a full 18-hole match. So you never get the full golf experience. Otherwise, it’s pretty fun.
To Do Blocks is a to-do list app that uses blocks instead of lists to help you plan your day. You simply create blocks with your daily tasks, then see your schedule as a sequence of blocks instead of a bland, boring list. We love how it looks different without actually being different. This removes time constraints, so you get to your tasks as you go instead of trying to get to each one on time. It’s not as effective as a full to-do list app, but it certainly helps if your brain thinks that way.
Goddess of Victory: Nod
Price: free to play
Goddess of Victory: Nikke is a gacha RPG with third-person shooter mechanics. Let’s start with the gacha elements. The characters you summon have various active and passive abilities that grant them different advantages in battle. Combat puts your characters in cover, where you shoot enemies advancing on your position. It is certainly different from what we normally see. There’s quite a story to play, as well as other things to do in the game. The game is certainly entertaining, and the gacha draw rates aren’t horrible.
If we missed any great Android apps or game releases, tell us about them in the comments.
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