Welcome to the 467th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the big headlines from the last week:
- We had some wallpaper goodness this week. First, you can get six of the Asus ROG Phone 6 wallpapers, and one of them is a live wallpaper. They look quite nice and are high-resolution, so they should work on most phones. Additionally, our latest Wallpaper Wednesday came out with some nice nature and cityscape images.
- Google updated Google Maps this week on Wear OS. The app now has turn-by-turn navigation on Wear OS without needing the full smartphone app. Once updated, you should be able to use your voice or keyboard to find a destination, and the app handles the rest.
- Android 13’s QPR2 update added 20 new emojis to Pixel phones. The update brought support for Unicode 15, which included the new emojis. There isn’t much else to this one, but you may see the new emojis in apps now that it’s available on the phone.
- Google’s Extension SDK went live recently. The new SDK lets developers bring newer features to older versions of Android. This helps make it so getting the newest version isn’t the biggest deal, and people with aging devices can still access new stuff. Apps with this should start coming out this year or next year.
- WhatsApp now lets you bypass Internet crackdowns. The app recently received proxy support in an update. You can access it in the Settings menu under Storage and Data. It doesn’t work if Internet connectivity is entirely shut down, but it can bypass a firewall without much difficulty.
- Google’s beef with Apple about RCS continues into 2023. The company bought a huge billboard in Las Vegas during CES. The video advert accused Apple of dropping the ball and even had a code example to help integrate RCS into iMessage. Hit the link to see the full billboard video.
Dominio Dreams
Price: Free to play
Domino Dreams is a puzzle game that features dominoes. The gameplay has you matching tiles on the board with tiles in your hand. You progress by clearing each board and moving on to the next level. The game features over 1,000 levels and a secondary mechanic where you build up a kingdom. We think the game’s 4.8 Google Play rating is a bit overinflated for what it offers, but it’s not a bad time killer for simple puzzle game fans.
Copyist
Price: Free / $59.99
Copyist is a content creation tool for bloggers. It features dozens of tools, including an article generator, a blog post writer, and even a section where you can get blog ideas. The main feature is an AI tool that writes stuff out. It does an okay job, but we still think people do it better. However, we may be biased in that regard. Small bloggers can definitely find some use for an app like this, even if it’s a bit of a niche product.
KartRider: Drift
Price: Free to play
KartRider: Drift is the latest game in the popular KartRider series. The game is a kart racer, similar to games like Mario Kart. The game pits you against seven other racers, and you use various power-ups and driving skills to reach the end first. This version of the game also includes a few different game modes, customization options, and you can choose your character. The game runs fairly well and should compete well in the kart racer space. Most of its bad reviews come from folks who pre-downloaded the game before it was live but didn’t know you couldn’t physically play it yet.
Food Log Journal
Price: Free / $1.49 per month/ $10.99 per year / $17.99 once
Food Log Journal is exactly what the title implies. It lets you log your meals and snacks in a simple, but effective way. You can use it to track your diet so you can make changes as needed. You can use the tools in different ways. For example, I don’t eat breakfast, so I hid that part of the app, and it let me do it. It’s not the most modern UI design we’ve ever seen, but it works effectively. We also like that there’s a pay-once option aside from the usual subscription model. That always gets bonus points from us.
Cat Snack Bar
Price: Free to play
Cat Snack Bar is a restaurant sim with a bunch of fat little cats. It’s a pretty simple overall experience. You take orders from customers, prepare their dishes, earn money, and use the money to upgrade your restaurant. It’s a gameplay loop we’re quite familiar with. It does use an incremental game feature where your business resets when you upgrade it. It’s something idle game fans will know about, but non-idle fans won’t. In any case, it’s a cute little game that works well for killing time.
If we missed any good Android apps and games that were released this week, tell us about them in the comments.
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