5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week


AAW Tales from the Mirror

Welcome to the 393rd edition of Weekly Android Apps. Here are the headlines from the past week:

  • The battle between Epic Games (Fortnite) and Google raged this week. New court documents unveiled that Google told Epic Games not to do all the sideloading. Google went on to say that sideloading was a bad experience, literally using the words “awful” and “abysmal”. Google also launched the idea of ​​buying part of Epic Games. That, of course, doesn’t make Google look good in the courtroom. Click on the link to see more details.
  • Google also wants you to quit Hangouts. Hangouts now encourages users to quit Hangouts and migrate to Google’s new Chat app. Additionally, Hangouts is losing some functionality as of August 16 and will close at the end of 2021. The new app is okay, but it needs some improvement to reach that sweet spot that Hangouts has touched with so many people for so many years. years.
  • The Google Play Store saw a wave of app deletions in May 2021. Chances are, further policy changes have helped with this. Between January and April, more than 58,000 apps were removed from the Play Store. However, May alone saw a drop of 65,000. On the positive side, Google Play saw higher revenue and download numbers compared to the same period last year. Click on the link to find out more.
  • The Senate is launching the Google Play Store and Apple App Store controversy that has dominated 2021 so far. The Open App Markets Act would allow developers to use their own payment functions, force mobile devices to allow sideloading, and prevent Google and Apple from abusing their positions in favor of their own apps. The law has not yet been passed and was only introduced this week.
  • Bluestacks is finally updating to allow the use of new apps and games. Previously it supported up to Android 7.0 Nougat. Now it works with apps and games through Android 9.0. It opens up Bluestacks to a host of new games, some of which are very popular like Genshin Impact. Click on the link for more details.

Old friends dog play

Price: Free to play

Old Friends Dog Game is an overall enjoyable game. It is a simulator where you create a dog sanctuary. From there, you feed and care for senior dogs who otherwise wouldn’t be able to find a home. Players bake treats, play with the dogs, and more. There are even story episodes that pull the chords a bit and even the name derives from a famous old dog sanctuary. The game has some bugs, but it’s so cute and in love that no one cares. It is also a great game for children.


Simple launcher

Price: Free / $ 2.49

Screenshot of the 2021 simple launcher

Joe Hindy / Android Authority

Uncomplicated Launcher is a simple and minimized launcher. It caters to the elderly with features like pill reminders and an SOS button. The functionality is actually quite decent. You can perform basic phone tasks like alarms, reminders, messages, phone calls, etc. very easily and quickly by pressing a few buttons. However, the user interface of this app is, frankly, pretty bad. The function part is fine, but the big, gray 3D buttons look like something ripped straight out of Windows 98. Just because people get older doesn’t mean they don’t like looking at nice user interfaces. Otherwise, he’s a neat launcher with some great ideas.


Mech Arena: Robot Showdown

Price: Free to play

Mech Arena: Robot Showdown is a PvP oriented mech shooter that launched worldwide this week. The game features levels meant for quick and decisive PvP battles, various mechanics supporting different types of play, and reasonably straightforward controls. Mech Arena revolves around its 5v5 PvP killer style game mode. Players also unlock skins to customize their mechs. There is also controller support although it is not perfect and we hope they give you the chance to remap the controls as soon as possible. The only other gripe is the ability to purchase top tier mechs for real money, so there is an element of pay to be gained with this one.


Magnolia

Price: Free / $ 4.99 to $ 6.99 per month

Screenshot of Magnolia 2021

Joe Hindy / Android Authority

Magnolia is a new TV app from Discovery. It features and hosts all the content you can find on the Magnolia Channel. The app includes shows, workshops, and you can even purchase physical products from within the app. It’s definitely something a little different from your typical TV streaming service. That said, the app is not without its problems. There’s no Chromecast support at launch, a bit of a no-no these days. In addition, the user interface could use some optimization. Some things require more clicks than you expect, like the search function. However, the developers are probably busy fixing these bugs now, so this is a temporary issue.


Tales from the mirror

Price: $ 2.99

Tales of the Mirror is a visual novel. As such, the goal is to experience the story rather than the mechanics of the game. Players solve mysteries to advance the game. It takes place between the mid to late Ming Dynasty. You also get stuff like a mirror that shows you when people are lying to you. Each mystery has a specified number of days to complete and so this is the mechanic that adds tension to the game. There are in-game purchases in this game, but they have been temporarily disabled. As far as we know, in-app purchases are just cosmetic things.


If we missed any big updates, news, or Android app or game releases, let us know in the comments!
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