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Welcome to the 433rd edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from the last week:
- It turns out that most of our readers actually do read changelogs. We posted the poll last week because we were curious if people actually read them for apps in the Play Store. Over 50% of readers said they did while 34% said they do if they see a notification. Those are pretty good numbers and we’re impressed with our readership for it.
- A flaw in HUAWEI’s AppGallery apparently lets you download premium apps for free. Developer Dylan Roussel alerted HUAWEI to the issue but HUAWEI hasn’t solved it yet. Luckily, it’s not super easy to do so the vulnerability shouldn’t cause too much damage. Hopefully, HUAWEI fixes it sooner rather than later.
- Google has begun a testing program for the Wear OS companion app. You can find a link for that here. Some folks are stuck trying to join the beta, though, so don’t be sad if you don’t get in right away. In any case, this new beta version is likely to let people test new features before they launch to the app for real. It’s good to see Google taking it a bit more seriously, especially considering the Pixel Watch is coming this autumn.
- WhatsApp is changing how leaving a group chat works. Currently, leaving a group chat alerts basically everybody that you left. The new change only alerts the group admins and you when you leave the group. It’s a small thing, but it’s still a good change.
- Google Play may remove almost 900,000 apps from the Google Play store because they were abandoned by the developer. New apps don’t work as well as new ones and apps without updates never get bug fixes. Plus, the apps don’t get updated to the newest APIs so they’re not as optimized. In any case, both Google and Apple seem to want to clear out some space to make room for newer apps. Hit the link to learn how they’ll do it.
Mythic Legends
Price: Free to play
Mythic Legends is a new strategy game with some auto-chess mechanics. Players unlock various champions and use them to duel against other players. The game also has a few different game modes with ranked, gauntlet, royale, and dungeon playlists. At its core, it’s a card-collector strategy game with some fun mechanics so fans of those particular types of games should enjoy this one. It has some flaws and isn’t very deep yet. However, we believe that things will expand over time. Keep an eye on this one.
KMINT
Price: Free
KMINT is a multi-chain crypto wallet and it also supports NFTs. It has most of the usual stuff you can find in most crypto wallets. You can swap coins around, send and receive crypto from others, and a MiniApp platform with several other tools. To be honest, I’m not the biggest crypto guy so I didn’t really have many assets to play with here, but it seems to work okay for what it is. New apps are always a bit buggy, though, so give the developers time to shape it up before passing full judgement.
Gunfire Reborn
Price: $6.99 with in-app purchases
Gunfire Reborn is an adventure game with a smattering of other elements. It boasts some RPG, roguelite, and FPS mechanics. Additionally, the graphics are vaguely reminiscent of old Borderlands games. Players make their way through levels by shooting down bad guys. You can play solo or with friends. The choice is yours. It was previously released on PC and it seems like the developers did a pretty good job with their mobile port. The game is premium at $6.99, but that does unlock all of the content. The only thing you can buy with in-app purchases is additional characters. This is a reasonably good game and one of the few decent FPS games with a premium price tag.
Look to Speak
Price: Free
Look to Speak is a new app from Google’s Creative Lab. We talked about this in a prior update but it seems like it’s actually out now. The app is pretty simple, but also kind of cool. You give your phone a specific look and the phone reacts with a specific message. Thus, you can, say, frown at your phone and your phone will tell the person you’re with to leave. It’s an accessibility app and it is a beta product. Make sure to report any bugs or issues to Google so they can fix them.
Apex Legends Mobile
Price: Free to play
Apex Legends Mobile is definitely among the biggest mobile game releases of the year so far. It’s a mobile version of the popular game and most of the mechanics carry over. It’s a battle royale-style game with various Legends that have various abilities. The gameplay is smooth and we’re particularly big fans of the firing range mode that lets you demo weapons and test control changes. It had a surprisingly smooth launch without many bugs or issues. The game ran great on my tester phones. It’s been a few days so it’s old news, but this one definitely competes with PUBG or Fortnite on mobile. It may even be better.
If we missed any big Android apps and games news or releases, tell us about them in the comments.
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