Credit: Joe Hindy / Android Government
Welcome to the 370th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here’s the big news of the past week:
- Google confirmed the death of Google Cardboard this week. The app was removed from the Play Store with a message indicating the end of the hardware life. Google Cardboard was the first VR platform on Android, so it’s a little sad to see it go. However, for many years there was no more active development on the platform. Goodbye, cardboard, we’ll miss your kind.
- Netflix launches new feature. The new Fast Laughs feature shows you short comedy videos in a feed-like format. This is of course to combat short video style programs like TikTok. The catalog contains clips from a bunch of shows and stand-ups on Netflix. It’s only available for iPhone right now, but it should eventually migrate to Android.
- Fitbit suffered a significant disruption this week. This prevented the app from contacting servers for some time earlier in the week. Users are not able to update the various modules in the app, and many other parts were also completely useless. Eventually, Fitbit solved the problem, but it’s amazing what a minor server outage can do.
- In a surprising move, Google has promised not to use your browser history to run your ads anymore. It also wants to stop tracking your specific activity in its other programs to also offer ads to you. The changes should take place later this year. Click the link to read the full story.
- A new PUBG game was announced last week. PUBG: New State is apparently a very different mobile game than PUBG Mobile. The game has many similar elements to PUBG Mobile, including the battle royal style game. However, the game takes place in 2051. The environments and equipment reflect this with new weapons and maps that players can play. Click on the link to learn everything we now know about PUBG: New State.
Warhammer: Odyssey
Price: Free to play
Warhammer: Odyssey is a new MMORPG series in the Warhammer universe. The game has six classes, 12 specializations and the usual variety of MMORPG social elements. In terms of gameplay, it’s a solid MMORPG experience, if anything typical. You run around, do quests, kill bad guys and progress through the story. There are also decent graphics and easy controls, so it doesn’t take long to learn to play. There are a few bugs as the norm for new games, but most of them are small things that the developer should be able to clean up fast enough.
Google Pay
Price: Free
Google has officially completely relaunched its Google Pay app. It started working in November and the full version is now available. The app still has most of its original features. However, it places a much greater emphasis on sending money to and from people similar to Venmo or Cash App than for NFC payments. The whole user interface is therefore different to meet this new focus. You can no longer send money on the internet, which is a pity. However, you can scan your Gmail and Google Photos receipt data for some refund options if you wish. It is better and worse in some ways in others, just as you would expect.
Credit: Joe Hindy / Android Government
Abyss: Rebirth Phantom
Price: Free to play
Abyss: Rebirth Phantom is an idle RPG. Players start looking for another world and adventure while playing. The idle part of the game is basically automatic. You’re really supposed to just sit and enjoy the game while sharpening and summoning characters. However, the game has some flaws. The English localization is below average with clear grammatical errors. Plus, the calling system seems a bit confusing to some people. It certainly needs some solutions, but it has a promise for fans of the genre.
Flexcil
Price: Free
Flexcil is a note-taking app mixed with a PDF reader. The app has started its successful life on iOS and should officially launch on Android soon. With the app you can read, record and organize your PDF files. You can also organize and check other types of documents and notes. It’s a pretty powerful app overall with a bunch of different features that almost all revolve around organization, PDFs and notes. It’s currently in beta and you can click the button below to sign up for the beta version. Just be prepared for mistakes, because this is a test version.
Blade & Soul: Revolution
Price: Free to play
Blade & Soul: Revolution is a new MMORPG from Netmarble. This one actually has quite a bit of promise. The graphics are pretty decent and there are a lot of things to do. It features a more complex fighting style, though you can only fight automatically if you like. It even contains factional wars with up to 500 players on each server. Otherwise, it has a solid MMORPG base with many ways to customize your character. It depends on Netmarble whether it succeeds, but it has a good foundation, so we hope they build on it properly.
Thanks for reading! Also look here:
If we missed any great Android app or game releases or news, tweet on our official Twitter and let us know!