Welcome to the 226th edition of Android Apps Weekly! Here are the big headlines from the last week:
- LG is entering the payment game in the United States. The company announced its release sometime in the first half of 2018. It should coincide with LG’s next phone release. It should also have similar magnetic strip functionality as Samsung Pay. We’re not sure how successful it can get with Samsung Pay, Android Pay, and Apple Pay. However, we wish LG the best of luck.
- Google is doubling down on Assistant. Some of the announcements at CES include a huge Google Store makeover. It also wants to integrate new features into Assistant. Among them is the ability to purchase various things. The company put a ton of emphasis on the personal assistant in 2017. After a big holiday season, we can’t imagine this would surprise anyone. We can’t wait to see all the big updates coming in the next year! That includes Google Assistant in Android Auto. The company also invested $120 million in eSports this week. It’s been a busy week for Google.
- The Winter Olympics is getting some VR goodness. NBC announced 50 hours of coverage of the event in VR on its app. Some of the events include skiing, ice hockey, figure skating, and others. It’s not the first sporting event in VR and it won’t be the last. It should be quite a bit of fun, though. NBC is partnering with Intel to make all of this happen.
- Xposed Framework got a huge update this week. It now supports Android Oreo, kind of. The beta release that supports Oreo is out now. It has the occasional bug and should receive frequent updates. Thus, it may be best to wait a bit longer if you want something stable. We encourage you to hit the link to learn more about installation.
- Google updated their Android Excellence apps this week. It’s a list of great apps and games with an emphasis on optimization, design, and functionality. Usually these kinds of lists are just dumps for super popular apps. However, Google did a good job of listing a bunch of stuff both popular and obscure. You can hit the link to learn more if you want to see them.
For even more Android apps and games news, check out this week’s newsletter by clicking here! There’s a bunch of info there that we didn’t have space for here. You can also check out the Android Authority app for even faster updates!
Abi: A Robot's Tale is a new indie puzzle game. Two robots escape a factory and all the humans are gone. The two work together to find out what happened. Players control both robots one at a time. They move around to solve puzzles and progress. It boasts okay graphics and soundtrack as well. The game won't blow your mind, but it is cheap at $1.99. It also has no in-app purchases or advertisements.
Record Bird is a new app for music fans. It doesn't stream any music or anything like that. Instead, it shows you upcoming and recent music releases. Most music streaming services recommend music that's popular. Thus, there's a bigger focus on popularity. This just shows you what's new. You can also follow artists and genres. That way you don't get a bunch of fluff that you don't care about. The app is free with no in-app purchases.
60 Seconds! is an interesting new strategy game. You prepare for a nuclear apocalypse. The player only gets 60 seconds to do it. That includes finding your family, supplies, keepsakes, and other stuff. Afterward, you try and survive for as long as possible. Each play through is different. The house generates randomly with each new start. The game runs for $3.99 with no in-app purchases or ads.
Remindee is a new reminders app. It works a lot like most reminder apps save for one thing. It lets you create reminders with a variety of apps. You simply share a thing to Remindee along with a time and date. The app sends you a reminder when it's time to deal with it. It's far from perfect, but it is early in development. We expect stability and additional features to come in future updates. At the very least, it's completely free.
Lotus Digital is a new atmospheric strategy game. The game revolves around flowers. Players add pedals to flowers. They also add guardians to protect them from opponents. The game includes both single and multiplayer options, including pass-and-play local multiplayer with up to four people. It's something a little bit different. The game goes for $4.99 and there are no in-app purchases.
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If we missed any big Android apps news, releases, or updates, tell us about it in the comments! Check back next week for more!
from Android Authority http://ift.tt/2myIMLy
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