5 Android apps you shouldn't miss this week - Android Apps Weekly - Android Authority

Welcome to the 294th edition of Android Apps Weekly! Here are the big headlines from the last week:

• Google Play put up a lot of offers for Black Friday. Luckily, they are available for a few extra days. Some of the games include Absolute Drift, Civilization Revolution 2, Bloons TD 6, Monument Valley 1 and 2, Pandemic: The Board Game, The Room: Old Sins, and most of the Worms series. Many of those games are going for well over 50% off. Hit the link to see the complete list and get your gaming on!
• Facebook and Instagram had some struggles on Thanksgiving this year. Both services went down for a few hours. There wasn’t an explanation for the outages, but it was probably all of those images and videos going up of people with their families and food. Both services were back online as of 1PM on Thanksgiving Day. It was a bit of a slow news week and the world’s two most popular social media sites going down on a US national holiday is noteworthy.
• There is a way to play Google Stadia on any rooted Android phone. Currently, Google only officially supports Google Pixel devices. However, this root trick lets you play on anything. It requires the Magisk app along with some command line magic. Hit the link to see the tutorial for yourself.
• Both Call of Duty: Mobile and Clash Royale saw somewhat large updates this week. Clash Royale’s update included a new troop, a reduction in match times, and a rework to the arrows mechanic. The match times are a flat five minutes now with a slight tweak to how overtime works. Call of Duty: Mobile received a new zombies mode along with a bunch of new content. Hit the respective links to learn more!
• YouTube is now more annoying on televisions. YouTube apps on systems and set top boxes for TVs now include masthead advertisements as part of the UI. We say this change coming a couple of weeks ago and now it’s here. The new ad space takes up quite a bit of space, but it otherwise doesn’t affect functionality. We don’t like them and we imagine most people won’t, but it’s part of the deal now.

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Judge Dredd: Crime Files

Price: Free to play

Judge Dredd: Crime Files is a new free-to-play mobile game for fans of Judge Dredd. It’s a strategy RPG style game with an oddly charming first-person, but still turn-based combat system. The game also includes gacha mechanics. However, instead of collecting characters, you collect iconic pieces of Judge Dredd’s gear. Some other features include multiple game modes, a campaign mode, and a bit of voice over content. It has the tedious grinding of a mobile RPG, but otherwise people seem to like it.

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ZenKey

Price: Free

ZenKey is a new app from T-Mobile, believe it or not. ZenKey is a test for a new thing to replace usernames and passwords. Essentially, you put all of your info into ZenKey and use it to log in everywhere. It’s kind of like a more powerful version of a password manager app. This one is in active development and it’s also in beta. Thus, if you try it, expect bugs. We also believe this is only for T-Mobile subscribers right now. It’s a neat idea, though.

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GRID Autosport

Price: $9.99

GRID Autosport is a surprisingly competent new racer. This one has a single cost instead of in-app purchases and that’s a bold move for a racer in 2019. The graphics are surprisingly good as are the controls and handling mechanics. The game features over 100 cars, over 100 tracks, multiple control schemes, and you can scale the difficulty to keep yourself challenged. It’s only available for select devices and that list is available in the Google Play description. This is one of the really good ones.

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Dark Mode

Price: Free

Dark Mode is a super simple app. It basically lets you enable a dark mode on devices without the option to do so in the settings. Compatibility is a bit rough to estimate because we don’t have that many tester devices. However, if your device doesn’t have dark mode disabled by the OEM, this app can most likely turn it on. You still have to manually enable dark mode in some apps like Google Chrome, but otherwise it seems to work fine.

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Om Nom: Merge

Price: Free to play

Om Nom: Merge is the latest game from Zepto Labs This one brings On Nom, the cute green monster from the Cut the Rope series into another genre. This one is an idle-tapper style RPG. Players start out with just Om Nom and slowly accrue a mini army of fruit-eating monsters to help out. Eating fruit generates coins and that generates more friends. You combine friends to create more powerful and efficient friends. This one is family friendly, cute, and the idle tapper mechanics are actually pretty good.

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If we missed any big Android apps or games news, tell us about it in the comments!

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Lawnchair 2 stable is now rolling out on the Play Store with tons of new features - XDA Developers

Third-party launchers may not be as tightly integrated into the system as first-party launchers are, but they generally offer a lot more features than the stock launcher on any given device. Take Google’s Pixel Launcher, for example. It’s clean and beautifully designed, but there are only a handful of options to customize the launcher. In comparison, a third-party launcher like the popular Lawnchair app has dozens of features. You can stick with a more minimalist, Pixel Launcher-like experience or you can customize out the wazoo. The last stable update was version 1.2.1 back in July, and now the Lawnchair app has reached version 2 in the stable channel after months of beta releases.

Here are the highlights of the v2 update, per the team:

Lawnchair v2 Update Highlights:

• Adds Drawer Categories (Tabs & Folders).
• Introduces Adaptive Icon customisation.
• Enables integration with Sesame and Homefeeder.
• Adds Pixel Launcher’s At a Glance widget.
• Integrates with Android’s Recents page via QuickSwitch.

And here’s the full list of key features available in Lawnchair v2:

Key Feature List

• Theme
  • Adaptive Icons: Pick between 6 presets or easily create custom shapes—even for your favourite icon packs
  • Blur: An adjustable transparency effect for surfaces
  • Smart Appearance: Dark Mode turns on automatically to match system settings, your wallpaper, or the time of day
  • Colours: A new colour picker creates palettes based on your wallpaper and offers precise tint control
  • Custom Fonts: Apply fonts to selected areas—like titles and labels. Pick from dozens of free typefaces or add your own.
• Desktop
  • Layout: Add or remove rows and columns—visually. Use Lock Desktop to prevent accidental edits.
  • App Shortcuts: Customize icons, hide labels, and set swipe gestures.
  • App Launch Transitions: Pick custom animations—like Blink or Slide Up—to show when launching apps from the Desktop and Drawer.
  • Notification Dots: Stay updated with subtle alert indicators.
• At a Glance
  • Contextual Data: See what you care about—like today’s weather, notifications, or events from your calendar.
  • Icon Packs: Add custom weather icons to At a Glance.
• Dock
  • Style: Customize the Dock—from colour to size. Set the corner radius, change the opacity, and more.
  • Page Indicator: Navigate around the Desktop without losing your place.
• Drawer
  • App Suggestions: Your most-used apps, right below the Search Bar.
  • App Actions: Contextual shortcuts to your favorite pages in apps—like directions home or your latest earworms.
  • Hidden Shortcuts: Hide shortcuts you don’t need from the Drawer.
  • Categories: Tabs & Folders help keep your Drawer tidy. And Smart Tabs group shortcuts automatically.
• Search & Plugins
  • Search Bar: Find apps, websites, and contacts. The Search Bar changes shape to match Adaptive Icons.
  • Sesame: Do even more with Search—instantly launch a show on Netflix, or quickly find chats in Messages.
  • Feed: Google Feed and Homefeeder bundle updates into compact lists—a perfect addition to your morning coffee.
• QuickSwitch
  • Recents: Your customized Dock appears in Android’s Recents—launch your most-used apps, or swipe up to see all.
  • Navigation Gestures: Customize swipe gestures on Android 9 and 10.

The Lawnchair v2 stable update is rolling out now on the Google Play Store. You can also download it from XDA Labs. Visit the XDA Forum Thread if you want to give any feedback.

Price: Free

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This Week in Apps: Apple Arcade updates, TikTok distances itself from China, Kardashians send shady app to No. 1 - TechCrunch

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all. What are developers talking about? What do app publishers and marketers need to know? How are politics impacting the App Store and app businesses? And which apps are everyone using?

This week, we’re discussing the impact of the CFIUS investigation into TikTok, the further fallout of Apple’s vaping app ban, updates to Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass subscription-based app stores, Apple’s breaking changes that rolled out without warning (thanks, Apple!) and a shady app that reached the top of the App Store thanks to a big Kardashians-led endorsement, among other things.

Headlines

TikTok separates further from its Chinese parent

One of the world’s most downloaded and used apps, TikTok, is under a national security review in the U.S. because of its Chinese roots. TikTok parent company, ByteDance, is a China-based operation — something that has raised concerns because of its significant access to U.S. users’ personal data and potential censorship issues.

The company was already working to separate itself further from China before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) began its investigation. For example, it separated the TikTok product, business development, marketing and legal teams from those of its Chinese app, Douyin, and hired consultants to audit how it’s storing U.S. users’ personal data. Following the investigation, it hired more U.S. engineers and set up a U.S.-based team to oversee data management, Reuters reported.

The question now is whether not these moves — along with a promise to not store U.S. user data in China — will be enough. The app collects data including profile information such as name, age, email and phone number, provided by users, as well as photos, videos, and location. Many of TikTok users are younger teens and college students.

Even if you’re “too old” to care about TikTok, CFIUS investigation’s conclusions here will have a larger impact on the global app industry, as they’ll set precedents as to how foreign powers can compete in U.S. app stores.

Oops: Apple releases breaking changes with no warning 

Apple this week introduced new server-to-server notifications for subscriptions that allowed developers to receive real-time updates in a subscription’s status, so they could provide customized experiences for subscribers. Only one problem with the release: Apple broke most server notifications implementations as a result. Developers weren’t given any warning about the APIs that were “scheduled for deprecation,” either, which is not typically how web APIs are managed. To add icing to the cake, not only were the changes released without warning, they were also rolled out on a Friday — there goes the weekend. Thanks, Apple.

They mentioned it in their new docs. Apparently "scheduled for deprecation" meant today.

This is not how you manage web APIs. When Google deprecates an API they give months of warning, automated emails, and repeated communications.

Apple just changes shit. pic.twitter.com/QG4PyLxNVK

— Jacob Eiting (@jeiting) November 22, 2019

The vaping app ban backlash continues

Has Apple crossed the line between protecting its users from dangerous apps to just turning into an overbearing parent policing adults’ ability to make their own choices? Over the past couple of weeks, several have said the latter. Now concerning are arising about what this means for the overall industry and whether or not decisions like this should even be in Apple’s hands in the first place.

As you may recall, Apple earlier made a controversial decision to remove all 181 vaping-related apps from its App Store in wake of news from the CDC about the 47 vaping deaths and thousands of lung injuries. Some early studies point to Vitamin E acetate, an addictive used in THC oil, as the cause. But Apple isn’t worrying about the details of what’s dangerous and what’s not — it just wiped out anything vaping-related, including things like Bluetooth-connected apps that let users control aspects of their vaping devices, like the lights, heat, and updates to the firmware. There’s no backup plan here for those app makers, since web apps don’t offer the same level of functionality. Plus, the ban is also impacting devices used to distribute medication as well as apps designed to help people cut down and eventually quit smoking and vaping by tracking their nicotine usage.

For app entrepreneurs, Apple’s decision in one fell swoop also just destroyed half the vaping app market as their apps will now only run on Android.

The question now is whether or not any of this should be Apple’s decision? While you may personally applaud a vaping app ban — or simply not care because it doesn’t affect you — Apple has made other controversial choices that have a more serious impact. Like when it kicked out the app that aided Hong Kong protestors, for example.

Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass expand their collections

Apple’s subscription-based gaming store and Google’s rival subscription app store, Google Play Pass, have both added new apps since their debuts. Now, the two companies are making users aware of their ongoing efforts to beef up their respective collections. Apple this week shared a video that highlighted over a dozen new Apple Arcade releases that hit this month — the first time it’s released a compilation video featuring multiple titles since its launch.

Meanwhile, Google Play Pass added 37 more apps to bring its total to 274.

What we don’t know yet, is how well the two services are working — or whether they will benefit developers in the long run. And because neither has a Top Charts section, it’s not even clear what apps are most popular or how many downloads they’re seeing.

Apple Arcade adds a “Top Games” chart… well, sorta… OK, not really

Apple took a step to address the above problem with a new section in Apple Arcade called “Top Arcade Games This Week.” We had argued earlier that the lack of visibility into the popularity of titles on Arcade was a disservice to users who wanted quickly and easily find the most popular titles.

But this new section, while fun, doesn’t solve the problem. Top Games, based on what? Downloads? Editorial curation? Both? Is there going to be an API for it?

It’s common knowledge that the App Store’s Top Charts are based on a combination of downloads and velocity. And that data is accessible to third parties like App Annie, Sensor Tower, Apptopia and others who use it to come up with download estimates.

But a “Top Games This Week” section is not the same thing as a real Top Charts section. And by limiting it to only a week’s time, it provides no real insight into whether or not the Arcade is able to produce a lasting hit the way the App Store can, or what those hit titles may be.

Apple has distanced itself from promoting the Top Charts as a means of app discovery for years now. With its big App Store makeover, it shifted its focus more to editorial, curation, and recommendations, rather than downloads. But for a smaller store like Arcade, Top Charts could have value as they would feature some of the best titles from an already exclusive collection — that’s something people would want to see.

Why was a shady photo editor the top app of October?

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How to download movies from Google Play on your Android, iPhone, or iPad - Business Insider

It's easy to download movies from Google Play on your Android, iOS, or iPadOS device.Shutterstock

The Google Play app for Android, iOS, and iPad allows users to watch downloaded movies and TV shows in their library for offline viewing. 

However, the Google Play app does not allow in-app purchases for iPhone or iPad users — this means you will have to buy or rent the title you want to download on your iOS device using a web browser first. 

Here's how to download movies from Google Play on Android, iOS, or iPadOS devices. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Best Buy)

Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $899.99 at Best Buy)

iPad (From $329.99 at Best Buy)

1. Launch the Google Play app, or download it from the App Store. 

2. Sign in using your Google credentials. 

3. In the upper left-hand corner, select the three horizontal lines to access the Google Play menu. 

Select the menu icon at the top.Meira Gebel/Business Insider

4. In the menu, select My library. 

Find My library and select.Meira Gebel/Business Insider

5. Here you will see the movies and TV shows in your library (titles bought or rented via Google Play). 

6. To download for offline viewing, select the download icon in the bottom right of the title's feature photo. Make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network. If you don't see the download icon, you may have the title downloaded to another device. Google Play only allows a rented title to be downloaded to one device (if you bought it, you can download it on five devices). Be sure to remove a rented title from the other device before continuing. 

7. The movie or TV show will begin downloading. When it is finished, the download icon will appear pink with a check mark in the middle. 

Tap the download icon at the bottom of the title.Meira Gebel/Business Insider

For Android users, downloaded titles can be found by going to Menu > Settings > Manage Downloads. 

For iOS or iPadOS devices, downloaded films or TV shows can be found by going to Menu > Downloaded only.

The movie is downloaded when the icon appears pink and has a check mark. 

A downloaded title displaying a pink check.Meira Gebel/Business Insider

How to rent or purchase movies from Google Play on an iPhone or iPad

Before you can download a movie or TV show onto your iPhone or iPad using the Google Play app, be sure to buy or rent or purchase the movie in a web browser from https://play.google.com/store first. 

Google Play's Apple app does not allow in-app purchases — so you will simply have to access the site through a browser. 

Once you've purchased your movie, you can follow the same steps for Android devices above to download it on your iPhone or iPad. 

Insider receives a commission when you buy through our links.

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11 new and notable Android apps from the last two weeks including Facebook Viewpoints, Milkshake — Website Builder, and Breaker—The social podcast app (11/16/19 - 11/30/19) - Android Police

Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous two weeks or so. Today I have a survey app from Facebook, a website builder from Envato, and a social podcast app from Breaker. So without further ado, here are the most notable Android apps released in the last two weeks.

Please wait for this page to load in full in order to see the widgets, which include ratings and pricing info.

Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.

Featured App

Chat4All Translate App

The Chat4All Translate App is the perfect solution for gamers that don't have an external tool to communicate when logged out from their favorite games. This is especially important when trying to interact with players that don't speak your native language since Chat4All can translate text on the fly. So if you often play games like Guns of Glory, Kings of Avalon, or Fortnite and increasingly find it challenging to communicate in these multi-language spaces, the Chat4All Translate App is indeed the answer to your problem. You can expect an auto-translate option, for those that don't want to have to translate text manually, and there's even a method to share videos and pictures built directly into the app, for those times text won't cut it, and a meme is necessary to get your point across.

Price: Free⁺

Apps

Facebook Viewpoints

Android Police coverage: The new Facebook Viewpoints app will pay you a pittance to take surveys

Facebook Viewpoints is a survey app that awards points for participation. So if you have no problem sharing data like your name, email address, country of residence, date of birth, and gender with Facebook, a company notorious for selling user data, then you may get some use out of Facebook Viewpoints. The app will automatically pull this info from your Facebook account, which is the only supported login method at this time. After that, you'll be invited to "programs," which are surveys that award a set number of points. Should you reach 1,000 points, Facebook will send you $5 via PayPal.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Price: Free

Milkshake — Website Builder

Android Police coverage: Envato releases Milkshake, an app to make vertical websites

Milkshake is an app tailor-made for Instagram creators that would like to create a stand-alone bio site. Primarily you'll use this app to build mobile-oriented sites, where a Milkshake site is the equivalent of a vertical video, and creation is pretty simple. So if you'd like to build a mobile website in under 10-minutes, Milkshake is the app for you.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Price: Free

Breaker—The social podcast app

Android Police coverage: Breaker is beta testing its 'social' podcast app for Android, and here's what it looks like

Breaker is a new social podcast app that just entered into early-access, which means the majority of Android users can finally jump in to see what's on offer. This is a typical podcast app, though it does contain a few ease-of-use features, such as a bottom navigation bar and Castbox support. The app even supports a dark mode, which I'm sure many of our readers will be enthused about, so if you're looking for a new app to listen to podcasts, Breaker is a suitable choice, just keep in mind that it's still in testing.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Price: Free

Microsoft Learn Chinese

Microsoft Learn Chinese is a new mobile app from Microsoft designed to help users learn Chinese. What separates this app from the majority of language apps on the Play Store is its AI. This AI is useful for grading your pronunciation in order to ensure that you are speaking correctly, and you can even take advantage of chatbots to work on your conversation skills. Best of all, the app is free, so if you're looking to expand your Chinese language abilities, Microsoft Learn Chinese is a great choice.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Price: Free

Playlistmania

Playlistmania is a new playlist sharing app that arrived on the Play Store this week. It's compatible with many different music services so that you can easily share all of your favorite playlists with your friends, no matter which services they prefer to use. What's unique about this release is that you can convert your playlists so that they will support a different service no matter where they were created. So if you happen to use Spotify and a friend prefers a different service, you can easily convert your Spotify playlists so that they will work when shared with a user who favors a different service.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Price: Free

Quit Vaping

As someone that has personally quit smoking through the use of a nicotine vaping device, I see the usefulness of apps like Quit Vaping. Not only does this app provide a supportive community that will help you quit vaping through advice and encouragement, much like a cigarette quitting application, you can track how much money you've saved while not spending any funds on vapes or e-liquid. Essentially this app will highlight all of the harm reduction of the process, which is very helpful since you're constantly reminding yourself of the many reasons you're trying to quit.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Price: Free

Nude - Auto Hide Private Photos & Videos (Gymnos)

Nude is an app built to help users protect their sensitive videos and photos. This app does not back up any data online, which means your data will never leave your device when using this app, which also means you can use this app offline whenever you like. What's great about this release is that it performs all of the leg work for you by automatically hiding anything that appears to be sensitive. Better yet, there's biometric support, so you can rest easy knowing that no one can access this app without your fingerprint.

Monetization: free / contains ads / no IAPs

 

Price: Free

Tile Shortcuts - Quick settings apps & shortcuts

Tile Shortcuts makes it easy to customize your Quick Setting tiles, and unlike similar apps, it retains the use of your system's icons, thus guaranteeing compatibility with your system's theme. You can add new shortcuts for apps, intents, URLs, and activities, and you can even customize their icons so that everything matches. While there are many apps that already offer similar features, if you're looking for something new to explore, Tile Shortcuts is as useful a choice as any.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $0.99 - $12.99

Price: Free⁺

NordPass® Password Manager & Digital Vault

NordPass Password Manager & Digital Vault is just that, a password management app that also contains a digital vault for all of your sensitive content. The app comes from NordVPN, a cybersecurity company, though if you want to take advantage of cloud syncing, you'll have to pay for a subscription, which may not appeal to everyone.

Monetization: free / no ads / IAPs from $4.99 - $35.99

Price: Free⁺

Manufacturer And Tie-In Apps

Clean Home+

Clean Home+ comes from Philips, and it's a tie-in app designed for easy connections to Philips-branded air purifiers, humidifiers, and robot vacuum cleaners. By connecting this app to the aforementioned products, you'll be able to control them from anywhere you like, even if you're not at home. This way, Philips' customers gain greater control over their household items if they choose to buy into Philips smart home products and then connect them to this app.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Price: Free

Samsung TV True Fit

Samsung TV True Fit was released in Canada this week, and while there are still many regions that can't access the app, what we do know is that once the app is available in more regions, people will be able to easily see how a Samsung TV they would like to purchase will fit in the room they would like to place it, all thanks to the augmented reality functionality of this app.

Monetization: free / no ads / no IAPs

Price: To be announced

Know A Worthy New App? Let Us Know!

If you have an application in mind for the next issue of the roundup, feel free to send us an email and let us know.

Important: there are 2 requirements in order for the app to be considered, listed below.

• the app's launch date has to be no longer than 2 weeks ago
• it has to be original, ground-breaking, well-reviewed, interesting, fun, etc - the cream of the crop

Now, if and only if the above requirements have been satisfied, fire up an email to this address: [email protected].

1 sponsored placement per week is available (your app would be featured at the top and marked as sponsored) - please contact us for details.

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