March 2020 | Android Match

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WhatsApp could soon let you use the same number on multiple phones

Still in the development stage

WhatsApp has managed to reach a worldwide audience and break through 2 billion monthly users despite a severe handicap: The app doesn't support multiple devices for the same account. One phone number equals one phone or one tablet, that's always been the equation. And while there are workarounds to allow two different numbers on the same phone (for dual-SIM devices or Business users), there hasn't been any trick to make the same number available on two phones or tablets simultaneously.

WhatsApp could soon let you use the same number on multiple phones was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 11:35 PM No comments

Rovio soft-launches Angry Birds Legends in select regions, a card-based RPG devoid of fun

Is Rovio out of ideas? Let's take a look

For the last few years, Rovio has really been scraping the bottom of the barrel with its Angry Birds franchise. It would seem the dev has been slapping the property onto just about every casual gaming genre out there, from bubble poppers to match-3 titles, and then right back to bubble poppers, Rovio is clearly out of ideas. This is probably why the company is currently testing Angry Birds Legends in the UK, Sweden, and Finland as we speak.

Rovio soft-launches Angry Birds Legends in select regions, a card-based RPG devoid of fun was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 10:35 PM No comments

Hole-punch battery indicator comes to Galaxy A series and Z Flip with Energy Ring

The circle of (battery) life

Ever since the Galaxy S10 line came out rocking a hole-punch camera, inventive developers have taken it upon themselves to put the unsightly cutout to several clever uses. While some silly wallpapers made you giggle by artistically hiding the hole-punch, others turned out to be functional with some actual use — like Energy Ring, which recently released an app to add a battery indicator around the Galaxy S20’s front camera.

Hole-punch battery indicator comes to Galaxy A series and Z Flip with Energy Ring was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 8:35 PM No comments

Disney+ is coming to India on April 3 with pricier subscription tiers (Updated)

Hotstar to get rebranded to Disney+ Hotstar

Netflix’s nearly global footprint dwarfs Disney+, but the five-month-old streaming service is filling the gaps rather quickly. While the service went live in North America, the Netherlands, and parts of Australasia in November, it’s set to reach more countries in Europe and Asia later this month. Ahead of its March 29 release in India, the entire Disney+ catalog has already gone live on Hotstar—the largest streaming service in the South Asian market by user count.

Disney+ is coming to India on April 3 with pricier subscription tiers (Updated) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 8:05 PM No comments

Spotify Kids launches in the US, Canada, France - now available in 12 countries

It still requires a Premium Family membership

To give parents peace of mind while their children are listening to music, Spotify is introducing a separate app for younger users. Only hand-picked, kid-friendly audio content will be available through the new app, whose bright and colorful UI with oversized buttons will make it easier for little ones to explore.

Spotify Kids is launching in beta and is only being made available in Ireland, to begin with, before coming to more countries later on.

Spotify Kids launches in the US, Canada, France - now available in 12 countries was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 7:35 PM No comments

Google Podcasts web improves with subscriptions, sorting, and more

Still not a fully-featured podcast client, but making progress

Last week, Google Podcasts received a revamp on Android along with a new iPhone app, but one of the changes that we didn't explore affected the web interface. It's still not on par with the mobile client, but at least it now offers subscriptions and sorting.

We got the first hints at Google Podcast's web interface last year, but the proper website didn't launch until last month. It merely acted as a directory, though, and didn't sync your subscriptions with the mobile app.

Google Podcasts web improves with subscriptions, sorting, and more was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 6:35 PM No comments

Be an at-home Tiger King with Google's AR animals: list of all animals, compatible phones, and more (Updated)

He's rising up to the challenge of his rivals

Update 1: 2020/03/31 2:05am PDT
More animals

Google announced that it was bringing AR objects to search during I/O last year and since then it's steadily added new animals to the roster, as well as expanding the list of eligible devices. Now that a lot of people, myself included, are in lockdown, bringing a taste of the outdoors into your living room may just help you keep your sanity. Let's take a look at some of these AR animals, as well as what you'll need to enjoy them.

Be an at-home Tiger King with Google's AR animals: list of all animals, compatible phones, and more (Updated) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 4:35 PM No comments

Be an at-home Tiger King with Google's AR animals: list of animals, compatible phones, and more

He's rising up to the challenge of his rivals

Google announced that it was bringing AR objects to search during I/O last year and since then it's steadily added new animals to the roster, as well as expanding the list of eligible devices. Now that a lot of people, myself included, are in lockdown, bringing a taste of the outdoors into your living room may just help you keep your sanity. Let's take a look at some of these AR animals, as well as what you'll need to enjoy them.

Be an at-home Tiger King with Google's AR animals: list of animals, compatible phones, and more was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 3:35 AM No comments

Office 365 is now Microsoft 365, new Outlook features and screen time app coming to Android

The screen time app will combine data across Windows, Android, and Xbox

Microsoft introduced Office 365 in 2011 as a new subscription model for the company's popular suite of office applications, but it has gradually expanded in scope since then. Today it was announced that Office 365 is being renamed to Microsoft 365, and there are new features for both consumers and large organizations alike.

Most of the new features announced for Microsoft 365 are for the desktop: a new editing service built into Word and Outlook.com, an updated presenter mode in PowerPoint, and so on.

Office 365 is now Microsoft 365, new Outlook features and screen time app coming to Android was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 3:05 AM No comments

Get fit with your phone: Ten great apps to help you work out from home

You can still keep fit and healthy while staying at home, without the need for any equipment

Ever since we've been asked to work from home, I've received a bunch of messages from my friends and coworkers asking me about home workout apps to stay fit. Instead of privately sharing my recommendations with them, I preferred to make them more widely available here. I've chosen ten apps from the Play Store that are highly-rated and can help most people continue to exercise while confined, including cardio, body weight, and high intensity training.

Get fit with your phone: Ten great apps to help you work out from home was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 2:05 AM No comments

Telegram v6 introduces chat folders and archiving to declutter your feed

Like taking chances? This update is to 🎲 for

If you use Telegram and are overwhelmed by the constant feed of messages coming out of your family chats, work chats, friend chats, one-on-one chats, and updates from the brands and influencers you follow, you're probably in need of a way to sort them out. Good news, then: the app's latest update brings folders to file your chats in and an easy archival tool.

The main highlight of version 6.0 is the chat folder.

Telegram v6 introduces chat folders and archiving to declutter your feed was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 2:05 AM No comments

Microsoft Teams will be available to consumers later this year

Microsoft's Slack clone isn't just for the workplace anymore

Microsoft Teams is the company's version of Slack or Hangouts Meet: a room-based messaging platform intended for use by large organizations. It has grown rapidly since its introduction in 2017, and now Microsoft wants regular folks to use it, too.

It was announced today that Microsoft Teams will soon include more consumer-focused features, which should come to the iOS and Android applications in the coming months. Families will be able to talk in central group chats, as well as share photos/videos/other files with each other.

Microsoft Teams will be available to consumers later this year was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 12:05 AM No comments

38 temporarily free and 90 on-sale apps and games for Monday

Don't miss out on the sales for Cat Quest, FBReader Premium, and Thimbleweed Park

Welcome to Monday, everyone. It had looked like things were finally calming down last week, and then I was greeted with a wall of Android app sales this morning. Most notably, the open-world RPG Cat Quest is currently available free of charge, so make sure to snatch this title before the giveaway ends in 4 days. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the sales for FBReader Premium (a quality eBook reader) and Thimbleweed Park (a fantastic point and click adventure game), but of course, there are plenty more sales worth checking out in today's list.

38 temporarily free and 90 on-sale apps and games for Monday was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 12:05 AM No comments

Meet the finalists of the Google Play Indie Games Festival

Posted by Leticia Lago, Head of Developer Marketing, EMEA

At the start of this year we opened submissions for 2020’s Google Play Indie Games Festival - an international competition celebrating incredible indie games from Europe, Japan and South Korea.

We’ve received hundreds of fantastic submissions that showcase the technical abilities and groundbreaking creativity of independent studios. Many thanks to everyone who submitted their game. After some hard choices and late nights, we’re happy to announce our 20 finalists in each region.

Please check out the games below (in alphabetical order); each one is a true work of art. They will be receiving promotions and prizes to help them grow their business. They’ll also be competing in the Finals for the top prizes.

While this is a happy announcement, we must also inform you that we will be unable to hold the Finals as planned on April 25 in Poland, Japan and South Korea due to the COVID-19 situation. We will be postponing the events until further notice, as the health and safety of finalists, jury members, players and others involved is our top priority. Please stay tuned for further announcements.

Google Play Indie Games Festival Europe Finalists

Europe*

60 Parsecs! by Robot Gentleman

Aisle Trial by Jake Matthews-Belcher

Alien Escape by Korion Games

Alt-Frequencies by Accidental Queens

Bad North by Rawfury

Bounce that Bird! by Affinity Project

Cessabit: a Stress Relief Game by Tepes Ovidiu

Color Spots by US Apps

Cookies Must Die by Rebel Twins

Demons Never Lie by Maika Hernandez

Doors: Awakening by Big Loop

Faraway: Galactic Escape by Pine Studio

inbento by Afterburn

My Diggy Dog 2 by King Bird Games

The White Door by Rusty Lake

Tiny Tomb: Dungeon Explorer by Tinycorp

Traffix by Infinity Games

Tricky Castle by Team Tricky

Unhatched by Filip Loster

Void Tyrant by Quite Fresh

Google Play Indie Games Festival Japan Finalists

Japan

Amayadori by CHARON・Yanase

CUBE GARDEN by Fukudanuki

GIGAFALL by Shiki Game Studio

GummyShooter by simatten

Home Fighter by hap Inc.

Matsuro Palette by SleepingMuseum

METBOY! by REBUILD GAMES

Mocha - Dagsaw Puzzle - by Kotoriyama, Inc.

MonsterTrader by Mitsuhiro Okada

Overturn by Katsu Matsuda

Shiritori - The Word Chain Game by Baton

Snowman Story by Odencat

SOUND JOURNEY SCHOOL WANDERER by SOUND JOURNEY

TAP! DIG! MY MUSEUM! by oridio Inc.

Teiji Taisha Online by toru sugitani

The Final Taxi by Zxima.LLC

Uncrowned by NESTOPI Inc.

Wasurenaide, otona ni natte mo by GAGEX Co.,Ltd.

World for Two by Seventh rank

Zelle by Odencat Fuming

Google Play Indie Games Festival South Korea Finalists

South Korea

Castle Defense Online by BlackHammer

CAT THE DJ by CATSBY STUDIO

DiceEmpire by Banjiha Games

Domino City by Bad Beans

DUST by I-eye studio

Electroad by Night Owl Studio

Extreme football by 9M Interactive

From Earth by Kentauros Entertainment

Great Sword - Stickman Action RPG by Olivecrow

Heroes Restaurant by Team Tapas

Little Boy by 39Studio

Magic Survival by LEME

Mayday Memory by StoryTaco.inc

Petrider by Ddookdak studio

Project Mars by Moontm

QV by Izzle

Sand Shark : The Boy and The Sea by GABANGMAN STUDIO

Staroid : Brick breaker shooter by Spring Games

Sword Master Story by CodeCAT

Undestroyed by Keymaker games

The competition was open to indie developers from the following European countries: Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland).

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Android Developers Blog 12:05 AM No comments

YouTube caps streaming quality at 480p in India due to coronavirus

Taking anti-congestion measures a step further

YouTube and many other streaming services have lowered their bandwidth utilization to prevent possible network congestion problems due to everyone staying home and using the internet more than usual in these trying times. For many, YouTube videos start playing at 480p or 720p automatically, but it's still possible to manually select a higher resolution. According to XDA Developers, Google has taken a more drastic approach for some regions in India and has started capping streaming quality at 480p for those using the Android or iOS app, with no option to go higher manually.

YouTube caps streaming quality at 480p in India due to coronavirus was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 6:31 PM No comments

20 new Android games from the week of March 23, 2020

Missile Command: Recharged, GWENT, War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, and more

Welcome to the roundup of the new Android games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today I have a fantastic reimagining of the classic Missile Command arcade game, CD Projekt Red's collectible card game GWENT, and a turn-based tactical RPG from Square Enix. So without further ado, here are the more notable Android games released during the week of March 23rd, 2020.

20 new Android games from the week of March 23, 2020 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 10:01 PM No comments

New Google account switcher and gesture show up on the Play Store (Update: Wide rollout)

Update 1: 2020/03/28 5:35pm PDT
It took a few months, but it looks like the new account switcher and side menu is finally rolling out to everyone.

It's been almost seven months since Google announced at I/O that it was rolling out a new account switcher to its apps, which lets you quickly and easily manage all your Google settings. The design, which relies on your avatar showing up in the top right of the search bar, has already rolled out to plenty of apps.

New Google account switcher and gesture show up on the Play Store (Update: Wide rollout) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 8:31 AM No comments

Coronavirus helped Google Classroom surpass 50 million downloads

Teachers and students are turning to Google's online learning platform to maintain classes while quarantined

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, most schools and universities around the world have had to close. Institutions have turned to services such as Zoom and Google Classroom, which have skyrocketed to being the most popular ones on the Play Store. Google's service has become so famous that it just passed 50 million downloads.

AppBrain's data shows the app was not even in the top 100 most popular at the beginning of the month but has rapidly spiked starting March 10 to reach the top 5 most popular ones in the US last week.

Coronavirus helped Google Classroom surpass 50 million downloads was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 1:01 AM No comments

Google Podcasts gets proper queue and bottom bar in big redesign (Update: Explore episode topics)

The server-side update is rolling out this week

Google Podcasts may be well-integrated with Assistant and Home and Nest speakers, but compared to many other players out there, it has always been rather lackluster: Among other things, people have been complaining about missing features such as queues and auto-downloads.

Google Podcasts gets proper queue and bottom bar in big redesign (Update: Explore episode topics) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 9:01 PM No comments

Discord app adds bottom navigation bar in server-side test

Discord is one of the most popular messaging applications worldwide. While the Android app hasn't changed much as of late, there are a few interface updates being tested, including a new bottom navigation bar.

The new navigation bar is part of a server-side test that doesn't appear to be linked to any specific version of the app — some of our readers have it in the current stable version, while others received it in the alpha builds.

Discord app adds bottom navigation bar in server-side test was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 5:01 AM No comments

Alex Jones's Infowars app has been kicked out of the Play Store for spreading coronavirus misinformation

The Infowars app has been removed from the Play Store. Originally booted from the iOS App Store back in 2018, the Android version had remained available through Google's app venue until today. It was removed to combat the spread of harmful misinformation included in the app which pertained to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (popularized as "coronavirus"), which is against Google's developer policies.

A recently-published video in the Infowars app claimed that efforts to diminish the spread of coronavirus, including practices such as social distancing, shelter in place, and quarantining, were ineffective, and that "natural" remedies to treat the disease existed.

Alex Jones's Infowars app has been kicked out of the Play Store for spreading coronavirus misinformation was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 4:31 AM No comments

MotoGP20 and Monster Jam Steel Titans get ready to race their way onto Stadia

Slowly but surely, Google is filling in the content gaps in its Stadia game-streaming platform. Last year's release of GRID was a nice addition for fans of racing games, and now Stadia will soon have a few more racing titles: MotoGP20 and Monster Jam Steel Titans.

MotoGP20 is an upcoming entry in the MotoGP game series, themed after the real-life motorcycle championship of the same name. You'll be able to build a team of racers, customize bikes and suits, and compete against AI bikers.

MotoGP20 and Monster Jam Steel Titans get ready to race their way onto Stadia was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 3:31 AM No comments

Coronavirus has upended the Play Store top app charts, here are the winners and losers

Video calling and online learning apps have dethroned the usual suspects

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the world in many ways, including how we work, study, or even communicate. This is even visible when you look at the apps people download on their phones, as some have become indispensable these days. We've analyzed top app charts from last month and compared them to today's to see how they've evolved, and some of the results are interesting.

To prepare this post, we've studied top charts for Play Store app downloads in the US from February 27 and compared them with today's figures, using data collected by App Annie.

Coronavirus has upended the Play Store top app charts, here are the winners and losers was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 1:31 AM No comments

Behind every delivery app is a person—tip them well, especially now

At a time like this, more than ever, a few extra dollars can mean a lot

Right now, almost all of us are relying more on delivery and on-demand services than we ever have in our lives. Be it Instacart, Uber Eats, Grubhub, DoorDash, Amazon Prime Now, or Postmates, the gig delivery economy is operating at heretofore unseen levels. In many ways, this is great: it means Americans are staying home, reducing their exposure to others, and doing their best to flatten the curve of the coronavirus pandemic that is now spreading across the globe.

Behind every delivery app is a person—tip them well, especially now was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 1:01 AM No comments

You may want to cancel your Instacart order for next week — workers plan to strike

According to a report published earlier today by Vice's Motherboard, Instacart workers are planning a nationwide strike next Monday, March 30th. Instacart's shoppers, who handle the "front-line" work of actually buying the goods you order, are requesting additional benefits from the company, including access to hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and soap; an expansion of paid sick leave to cover those with pre-existing conditions warned not to work; and an extra $5 per order as hazard pay.

You may want to cancel your Instacart order for next week — workers plan to strike was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 11:31 PM No comments

Google officially introduces emoji mashup stickers on Gboard as 'Emoji Kitchen' (Update: More compact interface)

To help you express that moment when you laughed so hard you felt sick

Gboard is constantly under construction as Google keeps finding ways to improve one of the most used tools on our phones. The latest experiment looks extremely similar to an earlier test that added GIF and sticker suggestions for emoji last year.

Google officially introduces emoji mashup stickers on Gboard as 'Emoji Kitchen' (Update: More compact interface) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 10:31 PM No comments

28 temporarily free and 57 on-sale apps and games for Friday

Don't miss out on the sales for Monument Valley 2, Carcassonne, and Little Inferno

Welcome to Friday, everyone. The past two weeks have seen a crazy amount of sales, and today things appear to be finally coming down, and yet I still have some awesome sales to share today. Most notably, the gorgeous puzzle adventure game Monument Valley 2 is being given away for free for the next seven days. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the sales for the games Carcassonne and Little Inferno.

28 temporarily free and 57 on-sale apps and games for Friday was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 10:01 PM No comments

Live CCTV camera streams show how spookily empty our whole world has become

We're living in a dystopian future where no humans can be seen anywhere

With many countries around the world imposing a quarantine to avoid the Coronavirus' spread, I have been wondering what our planet must look like right now. Empty streets, empty squares, empty towns, everything just... empty. If you surveyed from above, would it seem like humans have deserted Earth or are there still signs of our lives, if you looked closely? Then it occurred to me that I can easily snoop in on the world from the safety of my couch and discover its new, unprecedented facet with all the signs of civilization but no people.

Live CCTV camera streams show how spookily empty our whole world has become was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 10:01 PM No comments

Nvidia GeForce Now gains 8 new titles as it switches to weekly new release schedule

A friendship between Epic and Nvidia is also emerging

Nvidia's game streaming service has been hit by an exodus of big studios like 2K Games, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard, but GeForce Now seems to remain insanely popular nevertheless — due to rising demand, you currently can't sign up for it in Europe and some trail Pro accounts have been downgraded. That might be because despite the big studio losses, the game library on the service continues to grow. To make these new releases on the platform more predictable, Nvidia has announced that it wants to add most new games every Thursday going forward.

Nvidia GeForce Now gains 8 new titles as it switches to weekly new release schedule was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 8:03 PM No comments

Monument Valley 2 is free right now on the Google Play Store

Usually $4.99, it can be yours right now with just a tap

Monument Valley 2, the second entry in the much-loved puzzle game series, is free right now over on the Google Play Store. For the low, low price of nothing, you can distract yourself from the world's woes in a brightly colored Escheresque dream, and knowledge of the first game isn't required to enjoy.

No cost, just install.

If you're unfamiliar with the games, they're quite accessible and intuitive. In general, you're trying to make your way to a goal or exit on each "level," but the scene's geometry stands in your way.

Monument Valley 2 is free right now on the Google Play Store was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 11:03 AM No comments

Here's another way to watch live news, TV, and movies for free with your phone

XUMO TV has plenty to watch right now whether you're on a budget or just tired of Netflix

There are a lot of different free streaming services out there, and it's tough to know which is worth your time. We've looked at both live and on-demand services from Pluto TV to Plex and Kanopy, and based on our reader's repeated recommendations, now we're taking a dive into XUMO — another option for free live TV as well as on-demand content.

How does XUMO stack up?

Like many streaming services, XUMO is cross-platform, offering both mobile apps for Android and iOS, as well as a desktop site you can stream from.

Here's another way to watch live news, TV, and movies for free with your phone was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 2:03 AM No comments

25 of the most relaxing puzzle games for Android phones and tablets

Destress with these mobile puzzlers

I often find that relaxing with a calming game after a long day is extremely helpful for keeping my head screwed on straight, especially during such stressful times. This is why I've personally hand-selected a bunch of puzzle games that are great for decompressing at the end of the day. So if you're looking for some of the chillest puzzlers currently available on Android, this roundup is for you. Of course, like most of my roundups, I've thrown in a few lesser-known titles to forgo many of the games you would find in similar lists around the web, in the hope that you may discover a few gems, and I've listed them all by price to make discovery easier.

25 of the most relaxing puzzle games for Android phones and tablets was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 1:03 AM No comments

Run ARM apps on the Android Emulator

Posted by Michael Hazard

As part of the Android 11 developer preview we’ve released Android 11 system images, which are capable of executing ARM binaries with significantly improved performance. Previously, developers who were dependent on ARM libraries and could not build an x86 variant of their app either had to use system images with full ARM emulation, which are much slower than x86 system images when run on x86-based computers, or resort to physical devices. The new Android 11 system images are capable of translating ARM instructions to x86 without impacting the entire system. This allows the execution of ARM binaries for testing without the performance overhead of full ARM emulation.

The new Android 11 (Google APIs) x86 system image supports ARM ABIs, while the older Android Oreo system image does not

The new Android 11 (Google APIs) x86 system image supports ARM ABIs, while the older Android Oreo system image does not

Details

The significance of this may require a bit of context, especially if you build apps exclusively with Kotlin or the Java programming language. Unlike Kotlin or the Java programming language, both of which execute on the Android Runtime (ART), any C++ in your Android app compiles directly into machine instructions. This means that it needs to be compiled differently based on the architecture of the target device. Mobile phones tend to have ARM processors; consequently, many C++ dependencies you might add to your app, like a camera barcode scanner library, are only compatible with ARM processors. This is a problem if you develop on a computer with an x86-based processor, as it would prevent you from running your app.

Previously, if you wanted to get around this limitation and execute an app built for ARM on your x86 machine, you would have had to use an emulator system image with full ARM emulation. Due to the overhead of translating an entire system’s worth of ARM instructions to x86, emulator system images with full ARM emulation tend to run much slower than x86-based system images when run on x86 host machines. Additionally, emulator system images with full ARM emulation cannot take advantage of the hardware acceleration and CPU virtualization technologies provided by x86 processors.

The new ARM-compatible Android 11 system images allow the entire system to run x86 natively and take advantage of virtualization technologies as usual. When an app’s process requires an ARM binary, the binary is translated to x86 within that process exclusively. This allows the rest of the process to continue executing in x86, including the Android Runtime (ART), and other performance-critical libraries like libGLES and libvulkan. In addition to this, the translator avoids expensive memory access instrumentation and the associated performance hit by avoiding the execution of low-level hardware-specific libraries. These new emulator system images can be used both locally and on your own continuous integration infrastructure. This is possible thanks to collaboration with ARM Limited.

Going Forward

If you have previously chosen physical devices over the emulator due to the lack of performant ARM support, try out the Android 11 system images, which are now available alongside the Android 11 Developer Preview. These system images can be downloaded in Android Studio via either the SDK Manager or the Android Virtual Device Manager.

Using the Android Virtual Device Manager to create an AVD that runs Android 11

Using the Android Virtual Device Manager to create an AVD that runs Android 11

Once you get your app running on the emulator, consider adapting it for Chrome OS. Chrome OS also supports the execution of Android apps built for ARM on x86 laptops. Building for Chrome OS provides access to a substantial ecosystem of larger screen devices, allowing your application to reach even more users globally.

This technology should enable more developers to test with the Android Emulator. That said, we still recommend that developers publish both x86 and ARM ABI variants of their apps to achieve the best physical device performance and reach as many users as possible. Going forward, we plan to roll this technology out across a wider variety of API levels and ensure that it supports testing all use cases that a physical device would. Given that this is a new technology, please let us know of any problems via our Issue Tracker.

Note that the ARM to x86 translation technology enables the execution of intellectual property owned by Arm Limited. It will only be available on Google APIs and Play Store system images, and can only be used for application development and debug purposes on x86 desktop, laptop, customer on-premises servers, and customer-procured cloud-based environments. The technology should not be used in the provision of commercial hosted services.

Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Android Developers Blog 12:59 AM No comments

Google Chrome and Chrome OS releases are paused due to coronavirus (Update: Unpaused)

The first break in Chrome's six-week schedule in years

For the past few years, a new Chrome release has occurred every six weeks, with changes coming to Chrome OS shortly afterward.

Google Chrome and Chrome OS releases are paused due to coronavirus (Update: Unpaused) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Apps , Apps/Games – Android Police – Android News , Games , Phones , reviews , Tablets 12:33 AM No comments

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