Welcome to the 432nd edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from last week:
- Netflix accelerates ad-supported plans and blocks password sharing. This may reveal changes around the end of 2022. The report comes from a memo to employees about Netflix doing just that. Netflix seems to be reacting to the massive loss of subscribers and is trying to find ways to get people to come back. Of course, streaming burnout is a thing and Netflix still can’t figure it out.
- One of the big announcements at Google I/O 2022 was the new My Ads Center. This is a place where people can change, delete, or view the information Google collects about them. It’s not that different from the websites Google already has, but it will be easier to find and use.
- Wear OS is another big topic at Google I/O. We’ve got the official Pixel Watch. Google is also promising a greater emphasis on new apps, including big names like SoundCloud and Deezer. We hope they’re serious this time around because Wear OS really needs better app support.
- Google Wallet is being relaunched by Google. This new version is not much different from the old version. You enter your payment card, tap to pay, and you can store things like membership cards. This new version also includes support for driver’s licenses along with digital car keys. It is a new addition to the Android OS and it is only a matter of time before we see support for it.
- No Launcher is expanding its reach to new devices this week. It is not available for all devices running Android 11 or higher. We’ve seen some serious backlash to None Launcher, but it has the potential to be even better. Hit the link to learn more.
Ringtone Maker by Yogesh Dama
Price: $1.49
Ringtone Maker is what the name suggests. It allows you to cut the sound files that are on your phone and then use those sound files as ringtones. This category is not new so you may have seen something like this before. This one isn’t all that different except that it’s new and, ostensibly, should get an update. That’s not something you can say about many of its competitors. The app lets you load tracks, trim them, then render them as usual. It can also assign a ringtone after it has been created, saving you a trip to your settings menu.
Dislytes
Price: Free to play
Dislyte is a mobile RPG with gacha elements. You summon various heroes and use them to fight the bad guys. Player growth is quite typical with the usual upgrade structure commonly seen in gacha. The combat is pretty typical too, but it does look good and that counts at least. It sets itself apart from other gachas with rhythm-style mini-games where you earn additional resources. It has a theme of superheroes and mythical creatures so you should be familiar with multiple heroes. It could use some optimization and looks good enough.
QR Master is a QR code reader and generator. Since Android 13 has its own QR reader, the QR reader on the Play Store is quite redundant. Thankfully, it also generates QR codes and that’s what makes them useful. You can generate QR codes in 24 different ways and include things like contact details, Wi-Fi passwords, and even download links to apps. The reader functionality is still pretty good and supports things like a flashlight and up to four times zoom. Not bad to be honest, but we wish there was a premium version so we could buy our way out of the ads.
Chinese parents
Price: Free / $4.99
Chinese Parents is a life simulator where you grow up in a Chinese family. The game allows you to live 18 years as a child where you will interact with different characters in different situations. You can also choose between being a boy and a girl. Each gender has its own story line. The game features over 100 endings, minigames to keep things interesting and much more. Some people are not fans of the UI and the game has some bugs when compared to the Steam version. Hopefully, the developers work around the bug.
NothinK is a collection of widgets, wallpapers and live wallpapers. It uses the keyword “bespoke” that you may have seen in marketing before. Thankfully, the widgets and wallpapers look and work great. You’ll need KWGT and KLWP to make this work, but otherwise, it’s pretty easy. There are widgets for calendar, calculator, music, battery, weather, volume, Google Search, and a few others. Marketing gimmicks aside, this is actually a small package of pretty good widgets and wallpapers for a reasonable price.
If we missed any news or a major Android app or game release, let us know in the comments.
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