Mishal Rahman / Android Authority
Welcome to the 513th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here we discuss the latest mobile news and take a closer look at some of the most interesting new apps and games. Another app was released this week that claims to replicate iMessage for Android users, and this time it looks like it actually works. Google has also been in the news for several reasons, including a price hike for his YouTube customers, including those who previously subscribed to older plans.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of last week’s biggest highlights.
- Although Apple doesn’t officially offer iMessage for Android users, several workarounds have surfaced over the years, including Beeper, which allows you to use iMessage but requires you to hand over your identity in the process. . No similar solution had been introduced recently until this app was revealed to be a security nightmare and was abruptly retired. The good news is that a real solution is finally here in the form of the Beeper Mini. The app doesn’t require you to hand over your iMessage credentials, and it only takes a few minutes to set up. The only downside is that this service is not free and costs $1.99 per month. Beeper claims that this is just the beginning and that Beeper Mini will eventually integrate support for WhatsApp, SMS, RCS, and Facetime.
- YouTube is increasing the price of YouTube Premium in more and more regions as it continues to fight ad blockers and try to lure users to Premium. Now South Korea has also joined the club by raising prices. That’s not the only bad news. YouTube Premium will also transition all previously retired accounts to the new pricing plan. If you’re currently paying $9.99 or less per month, your price will increase to $13.99 per month starting in January.
- Google recently announced a new Gemini large-scale language model that powers the latest version of its Bard chatbot. So when will this improved feature come to Assistant? The code within the Google app is increasingly moving from beta to stable versions of the app, and Assistant with Bard is getting closer to release. It shows that there is. The same code dive also revealed some new information about Bard’s image generation features and extension support.
- Discord has moved away from its previous design, which attempted to update the mobile app’s UI, optimize it for smaller screens, and improve integration with web and desktop apps. Unfortunately, not everyone likes the new look, and some may be upset to learn that there is no way to revert to the old look since the changes are server-side.
- It’s no secret that the world’s governments love to spy on civilians, but Apple and Google have now confirmed that governments can spy on their users through push notifications. This information tells the government how you interact with the app and can even give you access to the full text of your notifications. While more transparency is good, it shows that privacy is not guaranteed on the web.
- Meta has been talking about Meta AI for a while, and the Meta chatbot is now available to all US users of Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Bots can generate images in chats and more. Additionally, Meta is opening up her AI image generation tool to mobile and desktop users in the US.
- WhatsApp is not only introducing Meta AI but also a View Once mode for voice messages. Voice messages are automatically deleted the first time they are played. View Once messages are clearly marked with a special icon to indicate that they can only be played once.
- After announcing the end of Google Podcasts, Google said it would eventually introduce tools and clarity on how long users would need to migrate their data. As promised, Google revealed that the tool will be arriving in the coming weeks and will allow users to continue listening to podcasts until March 2024. After that, you have until July 2024 to move your data before it’s too late.
Weekly Android Apps: New apps and games of the week
Looking for a new Android app or game to immerse yourself in? Here are some of our favorite suggestions from this week. This time, we have a lot of great premium games. Many of them are popular on PC and consoles.
door of death
- price: Free with Netflix subscription
Death’s Door is a unique action-adventure game where you play as a small crow whose job is to collect foot soles. Previously, this game was a hit on both his PC and consoles. The new port is faithful to the original game, but adds a touch controller and a few other changes to make it more mobile-friendly. Overall, this feels like a complete game, but it has some very significant limitations, including a lack of physical controller support, locking to just 30fps, and a few others on the Pixel 6 Pro I tested. I have to admit that I have encountered some performance glitches and issues with . upon. The game is playable and completely free as long as you have a Netflix subscription, but if you’ve played it elsewhere, be aware that your experience won’t be as smooth. If you have an older phone, it’s also important to note that there are no video quality settings, just the ones you get out of the box.
Goat Simulator 3 is another console/PC port to Android. The mobile version has co-op support and all the core features you’d expect. The game is true to what you get on other platforms, but tends to be much less stable. The Pixel 6 Pro struggled so much that I had to use the Google Pixel 7 to get a good experience. Still, there were some bugs, stuttering, and other graphical issues. What’s worse is that there’s no way to adjust graphics settings in this title, although this could go a long way in improving the experience.
Hitman: Blood Money Retribution
Yet another port! This time, it’s a remake of the 2006 original with new quality features, including some changes such as touchscreen optimization and Instinct mode, which was introduced to the series in the 2012 game Hitman: Absolution. Remastered with life features. Unlike the other games on the list so far, this game is actually a port with no noticeable performance issues. I briefly played it on three different devices and found that the experience worked well even on slightly older or mid-range phones.
shapes
- price: Free with in-app purchases
After playing a lot of hardcore games, I wanted to bring you something a little more casual, even though it’s still a port. Although the Steam version is paid and there are also in-app purchases to unlock the full experience, this is a free game. Shapez is a unique game where you build complex factories to automate the creation of increasingly complex shapes. It’s a good way to exercise your brain and it’s a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the mobile controls aren’t very good, with a few bugs here and there. I hope the game improves over time, but in its current form it’s playable but not as good as what you get in the non-mobile version.
Mishal Rahman / Android Authority
We mentioned Beeper Mini in the news, and we thought we’d add it to the new app spotlight as well. The new app basically tricks Apple into inviting you into their exclusive blue box club. You get all the same features as iMessage users, and iPhone users see you as just another iMessage user. It’s unclear how Apple will react to the app or whether anything can be done about it, but for now, if you’re considering switching to an iPhone just for iMessage, I highly recommend this. Apple’s messaging app is so popular in the US that I know many people who have switched phones because of it. That includes my sister. The only drawback here is that for the service he has to pay $1.99.
This week’s pro tip
In this week’s Pro Tip, we share tips and suggestions that we think will be helpful to our readers. This might include recommendations for new and lesser-known apps, how-to guides for emerging issues, or advice you might find helpful.
Thinking about ditching X? Here are some tips on the best alternatives to Twitter
Recently, a number of new apps have emerged trying to lure users tired of Musk’s version of Twitter. Which Twitter alternative is best for you? It depends on what you’re looking for. Mastodon used to get attention for being more open source, but it’s fallen a bit out of the spotlight now and was probably never destined to be anything more than a niche alternative. Still, it’s a good choice if you want to build your own.
Are you just looking for something similar to Twitter? Meta’s Threads network is probably the most obvious choice, and Threads compares favorably to X. It’s not a perfect replacement, but it’s close enough and has the largest user base of over 100 million people. While X remains the more versatile option, many left the network simply on principle because they disagreed with the way Musk was handling the company. If your favorite Twitter user suddenly shows up, he’s more likely to be found on Thread than on other Twitter-like apps.
Another solid option is Bluesky Social. For more comparisons to Twitter, check out our X vs Bluesky guide. We also provide an explanation to help highlight the differences between Bluesocial and Threads.