Welcome to the 452nd edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the top headlines from last week:
- This week we celebrated Firefox’s birthday. The famous browser turned 20 on September 23. Hit the link and check out what we had to say about it.
- We’ve also rounded up the best new Android apps and games from last month. Loyal subscribers and readers already know about all of these since we covered them, but you can click the links to check them out as well.
- Google Search will add a new Forums and Discussions feature in the near future. The new feature will search websites like Reddit or official product forums for answers to the questions you’re looking for. Google announced the change after learning that many people were just pasting the word “Reddit” into the Google search engine to avoid the sites and go straight to the forums instead.
- Intel is working on a new app for Android and Windows PCs. The app would work similar to Microsoft’s Your Phone app, where you can connect your Android and Windows devices. It is expected to be available with 12th generation Intel systems in 2023.
- Google quietly rolled out the gaming dashboard to more devices this week. It’s only for a few extra Pixel devices, but it’s a step up. We believe the Game Control Panel will come to non-Google devices sometime in the future, but for now it’s nice to see it appear on more phones.
- Google Wallet has been experiencing some glitches this past week. The app told people their phone was running uncertified software. This is usually the nomenclature when an app thinks your phone is rooted. It’s almost certainly an overreaction by Google’s security systems, and the problem should be fixed soon, if it hasn’t already.
Buy Heroes Legends
Price: Free game
Shop Heroes Legends presents itself as an idle simulation tycoon RPG. It’s quite a mouthful and not as exciting as it sounds. The base game loop is a classic idle game where you build resources over time even when you’re not playing. Then decide how you will spend the funds. The game boasts over 500 plans to craft, various workers to hire to make things go faster, and skills to make things even better. The game isn’t bad for idle play when it’s running. Unfortunately, the developer shipped it with some bugs that prevent some of the game’s features. Obviously we expect the developers to fix this eventually, so keep this on your radar if you like idle games.
Railway is a new crypto wallet that uses the Railgun privacy protocol. It allows you to perform Defi activity on the Ethereum blockchain while hiding it from Etherscan and other similar tools. Privacy features aside; the app works like a regular crypto wallet. You can send and receive tokens, use apps within the main app, and more. To be honest, I don’t have Ethereum, so I couldn’t test all the features. In any case, it’s free, open source, and definitely a good idea.
Bubble shooting kingdom
Price: Free game
Bubble Shooter Kingdom is a new bubble shooting game. It uses the same old mechanics where you shoot bubbles and try to match colors to remove them from the board. As you progress, you unlock different things to decorate your in-game home that is a castle. The game also offers pets, multiple areas to decorate, special events and is played offline. It plays pretty well for a bubble shooter and there aren’t too many in-app purchases or ads to get in the way of things. Overall, it’s a pretty cool experience.
NBA Official App
Price: Free / $99.99-$129.99 per year
Joe Hindy / Android Authority
The NBA has re-released its official app, boasting a brand new experience. The user interface has a social media style approach where you view things in infinite scrolling, similar to Instagram. It still has the usual stuff like highlights, scores, stats, news, recaps and standings. The only thing that’s really changed is the way it’s presented in the app. It’s also still home to NBA TV, an annual subscription service that lets you watch basketball games live. We think it’s more optimized than the outgoing app and should perform better overall once it’s had some time to mature.
Desta: Memories between and Oxenfree
Price: Free game
Desta: The Memories Between (linked in the button below) and Oxenfree (Google Play) launched this week as part of the Netflix Games platform. We don’t usually cover releases like this, but these are actually two great games. Desta: The Memories Between is a roguelike that combines sports with combat and a story that takes place in a dream world. Oxenfree is a thriller game where you explore a haunted island and search for clues about its origins. Both games are usually premium titles, but you can play them for free with a Netflix subscription. Netflix subscribers should actually look into these. They’re really good.
If we’ve missed any major news or releases about Android apps or games, let us know in the comments.
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