Welcome to the 462nd edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from last week:
- Google is merging the Waze and Maps teams this week. The company did it as a saving measure because both apps do the same thing. On the plus side, consolidation can help both applications. On the downside, Waze may lose its independence significantly. Hit the link to learn more.
- Amazon wants to give users $2 per month to spy on their phone usage. The company wants to learn more about how people use their phones and the effectiveness of their ads. It’s not open to everyone at the moment, and it certainly isn’t a lot of money. However, it may attract some people to do so.
- Google Chrome is getting less power and memory hungry. Two new saver features are rolling out right now, and we should see them fully rolled out over the next few weeks. The memory saver activates the tab when not in use, and the battery saver function activates when your machine’s battery is below 20%.
- Google introduced a new spatial audio feature this week. It should land on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 phones. Apps that support the feature include Google TV, HBO Max, Netflix, and YouTube. The list isn’t as long as Apple’s spatial audio offerings, but it’s a start. Hit the link to learn more.
- Google Photos is testing a new search function. This function helps you find people by their faces. Some users have noticed that the Google Lens button has also been replaced with a search function. The way it works is that you tap on someone’s face, and Google Photos shows you more photos with that face. It’s kinda neat, actually.
Auto Scrolling Video for TikTok
Price: Free
Auto Scrolling Video for TikTok is exactly what the name suggests. It automatically scrolls through TikTok so you don’t have to. It works fine. You download it, give it Accessibility permissions, then configure it in settings. From there, it automatically opens when you open TikTok and start scrolling. This can be adjusted for shorter or longer videos as you find them. This is definitely an early app and could use some tweaking. That said, it’s a neat idea, and otherwise pretty clean.
Aircraft Knight
Price: Free to play
Airship Knights is an idle RPG. Mechanically, it is similar to many others. You get new characters, level them up, and use them to progress through the game. Combat is mostly automated. The game has a charming premise, even if the voice acting is a bit amateurish. There is also a PvP mode along with lots of places to unlock. It’s decent for an idle RPG, but people who don’t like idle games won’t like this one either.
ZomokMe is a dedicated expense tracker for everyday expenses. This lets you enter your purchases and expenses. Plus, you can also split checks among your friends if you share them. In day-to-day use, it’s fairly easy to use, and you can definitely see your spending over time. You do need to create an account to use it, which isn’t ideal, but otherwise it works well. The only real downside is that it has a social element that doesn’t really work if your friends don’t sign up either.
Zombie Hunter D-Day 2
Price: Free to play
Zombie Hunter D-Day 2 is the official follow-up to the popular Zombie Hunter D-Day. The first game takes place 80 days after the apocalypse, and the second takes place 160 days after the apocalypse. That means the games are definitely related. This is an FPS game where you face zombies and monsters while trying to avoid death. There’s an arcade shooter quality to games where you don’t move around too much. The core gameplay is shooting zombies from a nearly fixed position.
Some of the other features include offline support, a weapon merging mechanic, and lots of zombies to shoot. It’s free to play, but don’t get too greedy with its in-app purchases. This would be a game of chance for most, but it’s not a bad arcade shooter.
Paint MS Version
Price: Free
The MS Paint version is a mobile port of the Microsoft Paint application. This includes the tools you click on and use. It doesn’t feel great with fingers, but it’s comfortable enough to use with a stylus or S Pen if you have one. This app feels like an early version. There are some bugs, especially with the menu system not working properly. We thought maybe the developers should test more before launching. Still, once they got it working properly, it was a nice little drawing app that felt like old Windows.
If we missed any news or a major Android app or game release, let us know in the comments.
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