Welcome to the 441st edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from the last week:
- The first round of the James Webb telescope started circulating this week. They are quite beautiful, and they also make for excellent wallpapers. In case you’re interested, we wrote up a quick tutorial along with links to the full-resolution images.
- WhatsApp released a new feature this week. You can now react to WhatsApp messages with any emoji. Initially, you were limited to about a half dozen different emojis. That restriction is now gone.
- Google released Android 13 beta 4 this last week. There isn’t much about it worth mentioning. It’s basically a release candidate for Pixel devices. However, beta 4 should be the last beta before the full release. Hold on to your hats, it’s coming sooner rather than later.
- Microsoft is already making plans for Windows 12. Reportedly, the company is aiming for a 2024 release or roughly three years after Windows 11. This would make it a three-year release cycle. That’s a similar time frame between Windows 7 and 8 and then again between 8 and Windows 10. We’ll see what happens.
- Google launched Chrome OS Flex this week. It allows you to run Chrome OS on a Windows or macOS machine. Google certified it to work on over 400 devices currently on the market. This is a big deal for Google, but we home they add Android app and game support in a future release.
Charlie in Underworld
Price: Free / $3.99
Charlie in Underworld is the latest visual novel game from Buff Studios. This is an offshoot of Underworld Office, another visual novel from the developer. It features a gruesome story, choices that affect the story, and more. The visual novel aspect means there aren’t a lot of mechanics. You’re mostly meant to enjoy the story and make decisions based on how it’ll go. The story is pretty good as well. We appreciate that Buff Studios is working more on the story than earlier visual novels from them.
Destiny Lights
Price: Free
Destiny Lights is a social network of sorts. It lets you anonymously send out or receive lanterns. Basically, a lantern is like a status update. You click on lanterns floating in the UI and get a random update from someone. The app also keeps track of your location so you can see how many people have read your update across the world. It’s meant as a positivity thing. Some folks are looking for positivity, and some are trying to spread it. We don’t see it replacing Facebook, but it’s a different idea and not a bad one.
Saint Seiya: Legend of Justice
Price: Free to play
Saint Seiya: Legend of Justice is an idle RPG that takes place in the Saint Seiya universe. There are also some gacha elements. You summon knights, use them in combat, and progress through the game. Some parts of the game progress while you’re not playing, so you always come back to something new. It has the same issue as many idle games where you make a lot of progress at first, and then it gets a little repetitive once you hit the grind wall. It’s not bad as far as idle games go, but RPG fans may end up bored with this one.
Linktree
Price: Free / $5+ per month
Linktree is a bio website. You’ve likely seen the links if you play MMORPGs or go on TikTok a bunch. The company launched an official mobile app where you can create and manage your profile. There are premade themes, a bunch of elements you can add to customize your profile, and more. We would say this is a niche use, but every other person on TikTok and some MMOs use it, so we actually expect this one to be pretty popular.
World War Armies: WW2
Price: Free to play
World War Armies: WW2 is an online multiplayer strategy game. In essence, you build an army and take on another player in battle. Battles help you earn upgrades, and upgrades help you win more matches. The mechanics are pretty solid, and the game isn’t difficult to play. There are some unit balancing issues, though. Overall, it’s pretty decent for strategy fans who like to compete.
If we missed any big Android app or game releases, tell us about it in the comments.
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