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

• Google is porting their admittedly powerful voice recorder app to older Pixel devices. The news came earlier this week. It makes sense because other Pixel 4 software features are on their way to older Pixel devices as well, including the often hyped astrophotography mode. We hope the app makes its way to the Play Store for even more devices eventually as well because it would definitely be among the best.
• Facebook did a couple of things this week. The first is a new logo. The new logo symbolizes a step toward uniting all of Facebook’s products under one banner, including WhatsApp and Instagram. This new branding should happen for all of those apps sometime in 2020. Additionally, Facebook banned the use of sexually explicit emoji on its platform, a laughably silly rule that doesn’t really do anything.
• Supercell also made the news a couple of times this week. The first is the roll-out of season five of Clash Royale. The season brings a nerf to witches along with new cards and a few other changes. Additionally, Supercell announced the end of Rush Wars. Apparently, the development team ran into some roadblocks they could not overcome. They decided to shut down the project because they couldn’t make it as good as they wanted to. Hit the links to learn more.
• Google is teaming up with experts in the cyber security field to make apps safer. The new App Defense Alliance includes Lookout, ESET, and Zimperium, all big names in the cyber security industry. Google plans to integrate systems from all three companies along with its own protections for a more powerful malware detection system in Google Play and on mobile phones.
• Adobe is launching a new camera app sometime in the near future. Photoshop Camera is a camera app with some of Adobe’s nicer tricks. The app includes Adobe’s Sensei AI and claims to bring Photoshop levels of quality to your photographs. It’s in closed beta right now, but you can sign up to receive a beta invite by following the link. We’re on the wait list and we’ll eventually tell you what it’s like when we get a chance to. Until then, hit the link to learn more!

zCube

Price: $0.99

zCube is an interesting 3D RTS title. Players get access to basically an entire cube. You can traverse the various sides of the cube in a variety of ways. The unique premise is backed by two game modes, two dozen missions, 25 units, and more. The game play is difficult to describe so we recommend checking out the video just below. However, you set up troops and defenses like a normal RTS game. However, you can flip the cube around and also set stuff up on those sides. The graphics won’t win any awards, but that’s okay. It’s not a bad way to spend $0.99. The game also has no in-app purchases or ads.

bthere

Price: Free

bthere is a new location sharing and group texting app. The balances its features between those two main ideas. For instance, your friends can see if you’re hanging out with other people in your friend circle and you can broadcast your location to see if any friends want to chill. The messaging part of the service is a little bare, but it functions well enough. Plus, there are potentially important things like emergency contact info for friends in need. The app also boasts a reward system that gives away stuff like free t-shirts and runs contests. We don’t know if this one will ever become popular, but it’s not a horrible idea.

ROME: Total War – Alexander

Price: $4.99

ROME: Total War – Alexander is a new standalone DLC to the popular ROME: Total War real-time strategy franchise. It joins ROME: Total War – Barbarian Invasion in the list of possible DLCs. This one centers its story around Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire. Unlike the base game, you only get one faction choice in this one and the game follows a narrative story. However, the mechanics are solid and the storytelling isn’t bad for a real-time strategy game. It runs for $4.99, but has no in-app purchases or ads.

Walmart InHome Delivery

Price: Free

Walmart InHome Delivery is what the name implies. You hop on the app, order food, and it’s brought to your front door. Walmart is one of the companies large enough to pull off something like this. It’ll be interesting to see if it works. Anyway, the concept is kind of neat. You hop onto the app, order your food, and pay. A Walmart associate collects your goods, drives them to your house, and then literally enters your house and puts the groceries away. You get updates about the whole process, including a live stream of the delivery process. It’s a little weird having a stranger in your home, but it seems like a neat idea.

NBA Now Mobile

Price: Free to play

NBA Now Mobile is a new basketball game from GAMEVIL. It’s a free-to-play game with actual NBA players and rosters. Some parts of this game are pretty cool. For instance, the game updates player stats everyday throughout the season and that’s a nice touch. Some of the other features include online PvP, a gacha element to create your own team from whatever players you can collect, and a prediction system that rewards you for predicting winning teams of actual, real life NBA games. Players complaints include the odd bug here and there, high prices for the in-app purchases, and a lack of an in-depth single player mode. We suspect it’ll get better with time, though.

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