Welcome to the 424th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the week’s top headlines:
- Telegram had a pretty big update last week. The update adds phone number links, a download manager, better media previews and more. Reportedly, live streaming support will also be coming soon. Hit the link for more details.
- Gboard is getting new features specifically for tablets and foldable. This is not a new feature. Though, it’s really just a separate keyboard. Competitors like SwiftKey and some OEM keyboards like Samsung already have such a feature. Now coming to one of the best keyboards on mobile.
- The second Android 13 developer preview is out this week. Not much to write home about, but it includes a few changes from the first developer preview. App notification permissions are now active along with assignable permissions. Hit the link to learn more. We’ll also learn more about Android 13 at Google I/O 2022.
- Netflix wants to curb account sharing. The company intends to charge users an additional $2-3 to share their passwords with people outside their household. You’ll add up to two sub-accounts for that price so people outside the home can stream.
- YouTube Vanced shut down this week after a legal threat from Google. Many people use it to avoid YouTube ads, view dislike counters, and block sponsored segments in videos. That’s not great news even if it’s understandable why that would be. Most of our readers still won’t pay for YouTube Premium even with Vanced out of the picture. It is what it is.
Defender of the Empire TD
Price: $0.99 with in-app purchases
Empire Defender TD is a new tower defense game. It’s reminiscent of old school cell tower defense games like Kingdom Rush. You mount towers, upgrade them as you go, and try to complete the level. You also get heroes that you can move freely around the battlefield to help out whenever needed. Also, the game is playable offline, includes 120 maps, 11 heroes and over 100 achievements in total. There are microtransactions but smart players can get around them. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a competent enough tower defense game.
MapGenie: Map of the Elden Rings
Price: Free / $6.99
Elden Ring is the latest game hit and this companion app can make that even easier. It displays a map of the game world with 1500 locations sorted by 70 categories. You can also search for locations, track your progress for things like collectibles, and make notes. The developers also promise a dungeon map in the near future. Elden Ring fans should definitely consider giving this one a look.
Sports Baseball Tap MLB 2022
Price: Free to play
MLB Tap Sports Baseball 2022 is Glu’s annual Tap Sports Baseball release. It features improved rosters for the 2022 season, support for your existing TSB account, and new leaderboards from the previous year. We didn’t test it too thoroughly, but the mechanics seem to be mostly similar to the 2021 release. You can compete in club events, gacha elements where you can collect stars from past and present, and much more. The 2022 variant seems to have launched with some bugs and balance issues. Hopefully, Glu gets it over with sooner rather than later.
Jow is a recipe app with grocery list elements. This app has a neat premise. You tell the app what appliances you have, how many people live in your household, and what foods you want to avoid. It then helps you find any recipes you have for making them. It also has vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and pork-free options along with other dietary restrictions. Once selected, the app saves a grocery list so you know what to buy at the store. These apps have their ups and downs, but recipe apps usually take some time to fill in the options.
Dark Enemy: Infinite Quest
Price: Free to play
Dark Nemesis: Infinite Quest is a new MMORPG. He plays like many others. You create a character, explore the open world, defeat bosses, complete missions and much more. The game also features PvP combat, including a battle royale mode with hundreds of players. There are also companions, mounts and other items for you to collect and level up. The graphics are good and the controls are not bad. Overall, this genre isn’t particularly unique, but it could be a lot worse. There were a few bugs, but that’s to be expected for such a new game.
If we missed any major Android app or game release or news, let us know about it in the comments.
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