Welcome to the 480th edition of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the highlights from last week:
- Google Pay users benefited from a bug this week. Google Play paid a lot of money for rewards. Some fees have reached over $1,000. Google fixed the bug but told users to keep the money. Not a bad week for some Google Pay users.
- The Snapchat version of Snapchat for Android is said to be running in dark mode, but it puts it behind a paywall. Rumor has it that Snapchat is putting dark mode behind its subscription service, Snapchat Plus. Considering that the iOS version has a free dark mode, this is especially insulting. However, it is a rumor, so it may not shake that way.
- Google continues to update Bard this week. The company has developed a website to keep track of changes to Bard over time. The goal is to provide better transparency to Bard’s changes and inform people of the improvements being made. Click the link to find out where the page is.
- YouTube Premium added new features to the service this week. The first is High Definition Video with the same quality enhanced bitrate mode as non-paying users. Other features improve usability, and you can learn more at the link.
- Google rolled out an auto-archive feature this week. The goal is to reduce the need to uninstall apps. Basically, once archived, it frees up to 60% of the app’s storage usage. This allows the user to keep the application on the phone until they need it again and still saves space. This is an opt-in feature, and you can learn more about it at the link.
Vatic
Price: Free / $7.99 per month / $29.99 per year
Joe Hindi / Android Authority
Vatic is an AI video generator, and it’s a fun little tool to play with. The app works like most AI apps. Enter your keywords and the app will generate a video based on what you’re looking for. Although there are a few such applications, it is not always successful, but you can make some simple videos with it. The most common issue we encountered was some strange artifacts when looking at very specific objects. You can use the app for free with ads. The premium version lets you make longer videos, removes ads, and includes faster processing.
Star rider
Price: Free to play
Star Rider is a simulation game with horses. The game gives you a horse at the beginning, and you go on adventures with it. This includes building things like stables, customizing horses, racing and riding with other players. As is usually the biggest draw in free play, the tournament moves very aggressively in difficulty. Additionally, we noticed some lag from time to time. Otherwise, this is a pretty game that plays okay.
We haven’t seen a new VR app since Google Daydream disappeared, but it’s clear some developers are still working on it. This is a semi-educational experience where you can see the landscape on Mars. The developer intends to add things like weather effects and proper game mechanics in future releases. For now, this is a fun little experience for those who like fun little VR experiences. Although it has potential, and very little competition these days, the door is open for a good VR app or game.
The call of the dragons
Price: Free to play
Call of Dragons is an MMO strategy game. It plays like other strategy games. You build your kingdom, train your soldiers and fight against other opponents. What sets this apart from most government builders is the presence of things like stories, scenes, and the like. In terms of pure gameplay, you’ve played this kind of thing before. You build your kingdom, you upgrade the buildings, you make soldiers, and he comes out to fight you. The performance is good, and fans of the state builder can enjoy it.
SuperImage is a super image that uses numerical networks. Basically, it takes an image, scales it to a higher resolution, and intelligently repaints the images to make them look cleaner. There are some options like mode, output format and so on. But, in terms of use, it only does one thing. The good part is that I had some old phone wallpapers lying around on my phone. The lack of options is the only real downside, but this is one of the best apps on the Play Store despite being relatively new.
If we’ve missed any big Android apps or games news or releases, tell us about them in the comments.