📱 2022-03-26 17:20:36 – Paris/France.
Welcome to the 425th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the headlines from the past week:
- Google Play will finally allow apps to do custom billing in the Play Store. Spotify is the first to test the new system where users can choose their billing platform. Google is also working with other developers to test the new feature. Click the link to learn more, but that's a really big deal.
- YouTube streams 100 TV shows for free, including Andromeda, Kitchen Nightmares, and Beyond Belief. The only caveat is that you have to watch commercials like on normal cable TV. These 100 TV shows include more than 4 TV episodes in total. It's only limited to the US at the moment, but we hope YouTube will expand its availability over time.
- Steam for Chrome OS is finally 100% official. It's currently in alpha, so it's only available for a handful of Chromebooks, and it probably won't work very well yet. However, Google officially recognizes this as a thing and has a website specifically for Steam on Chrome OS. Congratulations Chromebook users, you are now a PC gaming rig.
- WhatsApp has taken its time, but it is finally rolling out message reactions for normal users. The first wave supports six reactions in total, but should expand over time. This is a case of WhatsApp playing catch-up, as some major competitors like Discord and Telegram already had this feature. Click on the link to find out more.
- Apple TV took a step back this week. The service now prevents Android TV users from renting or buying content on the official app. The app recommends that you use an iPhone, iPad, or other streaming service to purchase content. Apple hasn't given an official comment as of this writing, but at least existing purchases aren't affected.
- We had a recent poll about Netflix's next account sharing price hike. As you might expect, over 87% of our readers don't like the idea of paying extra to share a password with a family member at all. You can click on the link for the complete data.
Puzzle
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 different heroes to summon and level up. There are clans to join to play with friends. There is both a PvP mode and a campaign mode. We think PvP needs a bit of balancing and the campaign can escalate in unexpected ways. However, this is quite commonplace for free games. It's pretty good for its genre and we hope the developers will continue to improve it.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is the new official app for the cult classic movie property. This houses almost all episodes of the series to stream and you can rent or buy them as you wish. However, some earlier content is not yet available. Content you've purchased or rented is immediately viewable with things like Chromecast support or in-app streaming. We've seen plenty of streaming apps get it wrong, but this one seems to tick all the right boxes. Pricing is clearly displayed, it's easy to use, and it does exactly what it promises.
The app also contains exclusive live streams for brand new 2022 episodes along with other fun stuff. It's not a subscription service, so you can only buy or rent here. There's something good about that, although it can get expensive over time.
Williams pinball machine
Price: free to play
Williams Pinball is a digital version of the once popular Williams SuperPin pinball machines from the early 1990s. One of the more recent editions is Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure. For those who didn't participate, mobile pinball is pretty fun. It works like a real pinball machine, just 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. You buy different pinball tables in 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 debuted as a Windows 10 app and recently made its way to mobile. It has a clean user interface, simple settings menu and fast operation. It omits a lot of advanced user features to do all that, but honestly the clean look and feel is worth it. You can log into your account like any other Reddit app, and the developer regularly releases new versions to fix bugs and add more stuff. It's certainly not on the level of long-time mainstays of third-party Reddit apps, but it certainly has a lot of potential.
vikingard
Price: free to play
Vikingard is a strategy game and a kingdom builder of sorts with idle game mechanics. You build a city which provides resources for your troops which you use to fight the bad guys. The main mechanic is tapping, and the realm you build provides passive resources that you can use. Some people might not enjoy the monotony of tapping to do it all, but idle tapping fans have a pretty strong game with this one.
If we missed any important news or releases of Android apps or games, let us know in the comments.
Thanks for the reading. Also try these:
Comments
SOURCE: Reviews News
Do not hesitate to share our article on social networks to give us a solid boost. 📱