Welcome to the 425th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from the past week:
With Google Play, apps can finally do custom billing in the Play Store. Spotify is the first to try out the new system that allows users to choose their billing platform. Google is also working with other developers to test the new feature. Click the link for more information, but this is a very big problem. YouTube streams 100 TV shows for free, including Andromeda, Kitchen Nightmares, and Beyond Belief. The only caveat is that you have to watch ads just like you would on regular cable TV. Those 100 TV shows comprise more than 4,000 TV episodes in total. It’s only limited to the US at the moment, but we hope YouTube expands its availability over time. Steam for Chrome OS is finally 100% official. It’s currently in alpha phase, so it’s only available for a handful of Chromebooks, and it probably won’t work too well at this point. However, Google officially recognizes this as a thing and has a website just for Steam on Chrome OS. Congratulations, Chromebook users, you are now a PC gaming platform. WhatsApp has taken some time, but it’s finally rolling out message responses for normal users. The first wave supports a total of six responses, but should expand over time. This is a case where WhatsApp is catching up as some major competitors like Discord and Telegram already had the feature. Click on the link for more information. Apple TV took a step back this week. The service now blocks Android TV users from renting or purchasing content on the official app. The app recommends using an iPhone, iPad, or other streaming service to purchase content. Apple has not made any official comment at the time of writing, but existing purchases will not be affected. We had a recent poll about the upcoming price hike of account sharing at Netflix. Unsurprisingly, over 87% of our readers hate the idea of paying more money to share a password with a family member. You can click the link for full details.
puzzle breakers
Price: Free to Play
Puzzle Breakers is a new mobile RPG with match-3 mechanics. It has a lot of the usual stuff for a mobile RPG. There are several heroes that you can summon and level up. There are clans you can join to play with friends. There is both a PvP and campaign mode. We think the PvP needs some balance and the campaign could run into unexpected difficulties. That’s pretty standard for free-to-play games, though. It’s pretty good for its genre and we hope the developers keep improving it.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is the new official app of the cult classic movie property. This houses almost every episode of the series that has ever aired and you can rent or buy them as you see fit. However, some previous content is not yet available. The content you’ve bought or rented can be viewed instantly with things like Chromecast support or streaming through the app. We’ve seen a lot of streaming apps do things wrong, but this one seems to tick all the right boxes. The prices are clearly displayed, it is easy to use and it does exactly what it promises.
The app also features exclusive live streams for all-new episodes in 2022, along with some other fun stuff. It is not a subscription service, so you can only buy or rent here. There’s something nice about that, although it can get expensive over time.
Williams pinball machine
Price: Free to Play
Williams Pinball is a digital release of the ever so popular Williams SuperPin pinball machines from the early 90s. One of the more recent editions is the Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure. For those who didn’t participate, mobile pinball is quite fun. It works just like a real pinball machine, only on a smaller device. Zen Studios has been doing mobile pinball for a while and knows how to do it well. Our only complaint is the price tag. You buy several pinball machines within the app and they can go up to $15. That’s a bit much, especially compared to other Zen Studios games.
ReddPlanet is a new Reddit app for Android and iOS. It originally debuted as a Windows 10 app and recently made its way to mobile. It features a clean user interface, simple settings menu and quick operation. It leaves out a lot of powerful user features to do all that, but honestly, the clean look and feel is worth it. You can log into your account just like any other Reddit app and the developer consistently releases new versions to fix bugs and add other things. It’s certainly not at the level of old mainstays in third-party Reddit apps, but it certainly has a ton of potential.
Vikingard
Price: Free to Play
Vikingard is a kind of strategy game and kingdom builder with some idle game mechanics. You build a city that provides resources for your troops that you use to battle bad guys. The primary mechanic is tapping, and the kingdom you build provides passive resources for you to use. Some people may not enjoy the monotony of tapping doing basically everything, but idle tap fans have a pretty strong play with this.
If we missed any major Android apps or games news or releases, tell us in the comments.
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This post 5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week
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