13 new and notable Android apps and live wallpapers from the last week including Android TV Data Saver, Starlink, and TVision (10/24/20 - 10/31/20)

It's Halloween, and there are 13 apps. Coincidence?

roundup_icon_large

Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today I have a data-saving app for Android TV, the new connection app for Starlink's (terrestrial internet) beta, and a TV service app from T-Mobile. So without further ado, here are all of the new and notable Android apps released on the Play Store in the last week.

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13 new and notable Android apps and live wallpapers from the last week including Android TV Data Saver, Starlink, and TVision (10/24/20 - 10/31/20) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Telegram 7.2 adds new tricks and treats just in time for Halloween (APK Download)

Improvements to pinned messages, location sharing, and more

Telegram released a big update last month, adding search filters, channel replies, and more. It's almost Halloween now, but that doesn't mean the team is taking a break. In today's release of version 7.2, the popular messenger app is getting improvements to pinned messages, location sharing, seasonally-appropriate animated emoji, and more.

Multiple messages can now be pinned, with a tap on the top bar jumping between them. There's also a new button to view them all at once.

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Telegram 7.2 adds new tricks and treats just in time for Halloween (APK Download) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Bixby gets a new Google Assistant-inspired look (APK Download)

Plus performance improvements

Bixby has never been the most popular voice assistant, but that hasn't stopped Samsung from finding ways to make us use it. From the dedicated Bixby button, to mapping it to the power key itself, Samsung would clearly like this to be a success. Its latest effort to entice users over to Bixby is a fresh new design that should look eerily familiar to anyone familiar with Google Assistant. But is a new coat of paint enough to make Bixby worthwhile?

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Bixby gets a new Google Assistant-inspired look (APK Download) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Samsung's Galaxy Apps redesign is focused on Fortnite and not much else

Samsung is using Epic's battle with Google to its advantage

Samsung has operated its own app store for years, the Galaxy Store, seemingly as a backup ecosystem in case the company's relationship with Google ever soured. There aren't many reasons to use the Galaxy Store over the Play Store, but Samsung now turning Epic Games and Google's ongoing legal battles to its advantage with a new marketing push.

Samsung announced today that it is "relaunching" the Galaxy Store with a new focus on gaming, but the only change of substance is that the bottom tab bar is being revamped.

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Samsung's Galaxy Apps redesign is focused on Fortnite and not much else was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Troubleshooting connection issues on Google Fi is about to get easier

Google Fi presents a pretty good value, offering a decent price for cell service, and good promos to boot. And as a multi-network MVNO, you get service through several different carriers depending on where you are, which can mean a better overall signal than simply being locked to a single carrier, but that isn't always true. In fact, troubleshooting connectivity issues when you do run into them on Google Fi is quite a pain, but thanks to a new update that's rolling out right now, it should be a little easier going forward.

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Troubleshooting connection issues on Google Fi is about to get easier was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

MAD Skills Navigation Wrap-Up

Posted by Chet Haase

MAD Skills navigation illustration of mobile and desktop with Android logo

It’s a Wrap!

We’ve just finished the first series in the MAD Skills series of videos and articles on Modern Android Development. This time, the topic was Navigation component, the API and tool that helps you create and edit navigation paths through your application.

The great thing about videos and articles is that, unlike performance art, they tend to stick around for later enjoyment. So if you haven’t had a chance to see these yet, check out the links below to see what we covered. Except for the Q&A episode at the end, each episode has essentially identical content in the video and article version, so use whichever format you prefer for content consumption.

Episode 1: Overview

The first episode provides a quick, high-level overview of Navigation Component, including how to create a new application with navigation capability (using Android Studio’s handy application templates), details on the containment hierarchy of a navigation-enabled UI, and an explanation of some of the major APIs and pieces involved in making Navigation Component work.

Or in article form: https://medium.com/androiddevelopers/navigation-component-an-overview-4697a208c2b5

Episode 2: Dialog Destinations

Episode 2 explores how to use the API to navigate to dialog destinations. Most navigation takes place between different fragment destinations, which are swapped out inside of the NavHostFragment object in the UI. But it is also possible to navigate to external destinations, including dialogs, which exist outside of the NavHostFragment.

Or in article form: https://medium.com/androiddevelopers/navigation-component-dialog-destinations-bfeb8b022759

Episode 3: SafeArgs

This episode covers SafeArgs, the facility provided by Navigation component for easily passing data between destinations.

Or in article form: https://medium.com/androiddevelopers/navigating-with-safeargs-bf26c17b1269

Episode 4: Deep Links

This episode is on Deep Links, the facility provided by Navigation component for helping the user get to deeper parts of your application from UI outside the application.

Or in article form: https://medium.com/androiddevelopers/navigating-with-deep-links-910a4a6588c

Episode 5: Live Q&A

Finally, to wrap up the series (as we plan to do for future series), I hosted a Q&A session with Ian Lake. Ian fielded questions from you on Twitter and YouTube, and we discussed everything from feature requests like multiple backstacks (spoiler: it’s in the works!) to Navigation support for Jetpack Compose (spoiler: the first version of this was just released!) to other questions people had about navigation, fragments, Up-vs-Back, saving state, and other topics. It was pretty fun — more like a podcast with cameras than a Q&A.

(There is no article for this one; enjoy the video above)

Sample App: DonutTracker

The application used for most of the episodes above is DonutTracker, an app that you can use for tracking important data about donuts you enjoy (or don’t). Or you can just use it for checking out the implementation details of these Navigation features; your choice.


Android Match

Gears POP has proven to be the failure everyone expected, closing next April

Microsoft says the game is too expensive to run

In August 2019 Microsoft released a Clash Royale clone called Gears POP, which is themed around the popular vinyl toy line while offering tons of cutesy Gears of War characters. Of course, connecting a toy line to a popular gaming genre doesn't guarantee success, especially when you idiotically tie adorable graphics to a historically mature line of games. I suppose this is why Microsoft has announced that it will shutter Gears POP on April 26th, 2021.

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Gears POP has proven to be the failure everyone expected, closing next April was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Google Messages conversation categories are about to roll out

It sorts messages into 5 specific categories that make it quicker to find what you're looking for

As the default messaging app on many Android devices, Google Messages is an important tool for staying in touch with friends and family. The app has continued to work on expanding support for RCS and experimenting with handy new features. Now it looks like users will be able to find specific messages quicker than ever thanks to categories that sort messages into specific channels.

This information comes from a series of images posted to Twitter of the categories in action earlier today.

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Google Messages conversation categories are about to roll out was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

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

Don't miss out on the sales for The Room Three, Crashlands, Evoland 2

Welcome to Friday, everyone. It would appear we have a boatload of game sales today, with more than a few standouts in the mix. First up is The Room Three, the third release is the acclaimed escape room series (Two is on sale as well). Next up is Crashlands, a fantastic survival game well worth the current sale price. And last up is Evoland 2, a quality RPG that offers a plethora of graphics types that range from 8-bit to modern 3D graphics.

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


Android Match

You can now set your Google Chat status to 'away' from Gmail

Google Chat may not be popular among general consumers, but it does have more use in enterprise settings, especially since G Suite admins picked up the ability to migrate to it from Hangouts earlier this year. It's a small quality of live improvement, but for teams using Google Chat, you can now set your status to away directly from Gmail.

Domains still using Hangouts can indirectly get in on the action as well by disabling the "show when you were last active setting."

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You can now set your Google Chat status to 'away' from Gmail was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Android TV gets a Data Saver mode when connected to mobile hotspots (APK Download)

Seems to only be available in India for now

Google is rolling out a set of new data-friendly features on Android TV to help users monitor and reduce their TV's bandwidth usage when connected to a hotspot instead of Wi-Fi. The features are coming to Xiaomi, TCL, and MarQ TVs in India in the next few weeks, but should be available globally afterward.

Chief among the additions is a new Data Saver mode under Network & Internet that can be enabled when connected to a hotspot.

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Android TV gets a Data Saver mode when connected to mobile hotspots (APK Download) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

More online protection with the new VPN by Google One

We’ve all done it. You’re sitting in a cafe browsing your favorite online store and you enter your credit card number while connected to an unsecured Wi-Fi network. While convenient, a public Wi-Fi network may be less secure than your personal one. This can put your personal information at risk of theft from hackers.

To give you peace of mind that your data is safe, we’re announcing the new VPN by Google One on our 2 TB and higher plans to provide an extra layer of online protection for your Android phone. 

We already build advanced security into all our products, and the VPN extends that security to encrypt all of your phone’s online traffic, no matter what app or browser you’re using. The VPN is built into the Google One app, so with just one tap, you can rest assured knowing your connection is safe from hackers.

VPN by Google One demonstration

We’re also now rolling out Pro Sessions by Google One with VPN support. With Pro Sessions, you can schedule one-on-one online sessions with a Google expert to learn more about VPNs and how to stay safer online. You’ll get access to the VPN and Pro Sessions in addition to the 2 TB of storage and other member benefits you already get with the plan, like 10 percent back in store credit on all Google Store device purchases. Plus, if you’ve shared your 2 TB Google One plan with family members (up to five additional people), they can also enable the VPN on their own devices at no extra cost. These are just a few more ways that a Google One membership helps you get the most out of Google with more peace of mind and helpful experiences.

VPN by Google One plans

Google Store rewards give you Store credit on hardware purchases from the Google Store. This is only available in U.S., Canada, Australia, Germany and United Kingdom. One thing to note on Pro Sessions: there are limited appointments available on a first come, first served basis.

The VPN by Google One will roll out in the United States in the coming weeks through the Google One app (Android only) and will expand to more countries and to iOS, Windows and Mac in the coming months. Pro Sessions will also be available in the coming weeks to all 2 TB members in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.

If you’re not already a member, you can sign up for a 2 TB Google One plan here.


Android Match

It looks like Pulse SMS has been bought by Maple Media — get ready for intrusive ads?

Memories of Cheetah Mobile come to mind

If the name Maple Media doesn't ring a bell, it might be time to put the Californian company on your watchlist. Over the past few years, the startup has purchased many popular Indie Android apps like the podcast player Player FM, the photo collage maker Pic Stitch, and a whole bunch of games.

According to a TechCrunch investigation, the company's goal is to optimize existing IAP revenue streams and add its advertising network to its purchases, all while optimizing the apps thanks to shared code and developer expertise across the lineup.

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It looks like Pulse SMS has been bought by Maple Media — get ready for intrusive ads? was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

OnePlus Buds companion app surfaces for non-OnePlus phones

But it's currently missing key features

It's been a few months since OnePlus released its first pair of truly wireless earbuds. The OnePlus Buds are pretty solid for the most part, but their lack of customization with older OnePlus and non-OnePlus devices has held them back. Last month, we learned more details about a companion app that would expand the functionality of OnePlus Buds to more devices. Today, it looks like the app itself has surfaced — although it's not exactly what we expected.

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OnePlus Buds companion app surfaces for non-OnePlus phones was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Google 'updates' Docs, Sheets, and Slides app icons by placing them on big white plates

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

When Google announced G Suite successor Workspace, it also took the opportunity to update the icons of its productivity apps, both for consumers and businesses. The new designs are slowly rolling out and have already reached Gmail, Drive, Meet, and Chat on many people's phones and computers. The latest design updates to hit Android phones are the Docs, Sheets, and Slides icons, and boy, they're a regression.

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Google 'updates' Docs, Sheets, and Slides app icons by placing them on big white plates was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Tip: Android 11's built-in screen recorder also works for voice calls

The other party won't be notified, so use this feature with due diligence

Android 11 is the first Android version to ship with a built-in screen recorder on Pixel phones. The native solution has a few tricks up its sleeve compared to third-party options. It's capable of recording sound in a few more places, and you can use that to your advantage when you want to record a phone call (if call recording isn't live in your Phone app, that is). Google even advertises as much in one of its YouTube videos detailing Android 11's top features.

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Tip: Android 11's built-in screen recorder also works for voice calls was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

You can finally hide liked YouTube videos in YouTube Music

Liked songs still show up in YouTube and the watch/listen history is still partially interlinked, though

YouTube Music and YouTube are too interlinked for many people's tastes, and it appears that Google is finally taking more steps to decouple the services. The YouTube Music app has widely rolled out a (previously spotted) option that lets you hide liked music videos from YouTube (as noticed on Reddit). Unfortunately, the setting doesn't apply to liked songs in the video streaming service, and recommendations and the watch history are still sometimes bleeding over from one platform to the other.

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You can finally hide liked YouTube videos in YouTube Music was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Sony redesigns the PlayStation app with a new look and exclusive PS5 features (APK Download)

Plus integrated messaging and voice chat capabilities

In preparation for the PlayStation 5 release, Sony rolled out an update for its Remote Play app earlier this month. Now the main PlayStation app itself is getting an overhaul that's been built to compliment the gaming experience on both PS4 and PS5 consoles. The PS app has been entirely redesigned and given new features like voice chat and, of course, native PS Store integration.

The first thing users will probably notice is that the UI itself has been updated.

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Sony redesigns the PlayStation app with a new look and exclusive PS5 features (APK Download) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Google compares similar apps head-to-head in new Play Store experiment

This could greatly improve discoverability for developers

As one of the most important apps on a smartphone, Google is always making tweaks to the Play Store to improve its usability and design. Earlier this month, a controversial test was spotted that took hamburgers off the menu. Now the Play Store is experimenting with a new change that shows direct comparisons between similar apps to let users decide which best fits their needs.

The "Compare apps" section shows up on individual app listings near the bottom of the page, though it seems to be limited to a few popular media players at the moment.

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Google compares similar apps head-to-head in new Play Store experiment was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Sony redesigns the PlayStation app with a new look and exclusive PS5 features

Plus integrated messaging and voice chat capabilities

In preparation for the PlayStation 5 release, Sony rolled out an update for its Remote Play app earlier this month. Now the main PlayStation app itself is getting an overhaul that's been built to compliment the gaming experience on both PS4 and PS5 consoles. The PS app has been entirely redesigned and given new features like voice chat and, of course, native PS Store integration.

The first thing users will probably notice is that the UI itself has been updated.

Read More

Sony redesigns the PlayStation app with a new look and exclusive PS5 features was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Surf the web more securely on Chrome for Android by activating Enhanced Safe Browsing

The feature is currently rolling out to everyone, but you can speed up the process

Google is already pouring tons of resources into helping us stay safe while we surf the web with measures like Safe Browsing for Chrome, and the company only recently introduced an enhanced version of this tool. It's widely available on desktops already, but it's only slowly rolling out on Android. If you want to get your hands on Enhanced Safe Browsing right away, there are two flags that will bring it to you.

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Surf the web more securely on Chrome for Android by activating Enhanced Safe Browsing was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

23 temporarily free and 50 on-sale apps and games for Wednesday

Don't miss out on the sales for Stardew Valley, Hidden Folks, and Beholder

Welcome to Wednesday, everyone. We have a full list of sales to share with everyone today, including some awesome standouts. So if you're a fan of farming sims, then the current sale on Stardew Valley is a must-get. If you prefer puzzle games, then perhaps the unique hidden object game Hidden Folks is more your speed. Last up is Beholder, a fantastic political sim where you get to spy on your neighbors.

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23 temporarily free and 50 on-sale apps and games for Wednesday was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

30 of the scariest Android games that are perfect for Halloween 2020

A roundup of the eeriest games currently available on the Play Store

It's that spooky time of year once again. That's right, Halloween is almost here, and so I have updated our Halloween game roundup with the creepiest and scariest games currently available on the Google Play Store. Today's list is comprised of new and old releases alike, but rest assured, I've added in some of the scariest games to land in 2020 to ensure a suitable list for the buildup to Halloween.

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30 of the scariest Android games that are perfect for Halloween 2020 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

League of Legends: Wild Rift open beta launches in select regions

Gamers in Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand can now jump in

Back in May, we highlighted a rumor that League of Legends might come to Android courtesy of Tencent, a company that just so happens to own Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends. It has now been revealed that Riot has been very busy having recently announced three new games for mobile themed around the LoL franchise.

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League of Legends: Wild Rift open beta launches in select regions was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Samsung expands 'offline finding' in Find My Mobile to countries outside the US

The feature is now available on any Samsung phone running Android 10

The latest version of Samsung's Find My Mobile app comes with a pretty fantastic new feature: Offline support. As in, you can find your phone even if it doesn't have a data connection — assuming everything works right and another Galaxy device stumbles upon it.

The change was first spotted by XDA Developers' Max Weinbach, and it' tied to the latest update to the Samsung Find My Mobile app (v7.2.05.44 according to our testing), which started rolling out over the last few days.

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Samsung expands 'offline finding' in Find My Mobile to countries outside the US was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Apple Music 3.4 now rolling out to everyone, with iOS 14 features in tow (APK Download)

New icon, new Listen Now section, autoplay, new search, and so much more

Apple is preparing to launch iOS 14, and that means there are updates incoming for all of its system apps, including Music. It looks like the company is working on bringing over these latest changes to Android as soon as possible, as the latest Apple Music beta v3.4 already sports almost all of the new stuff that will come to iOS 14: there's a new icon, improved search, autoplay, and Listen Now, which replaces the For You section of old.

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Apple Music 3.4 now rolling out to everyone, with iOS 14 features in tow (APK Download) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Cyberpunk 2077 is delayed again, now coming December 10

And the developer is offering its humblest of apologies

Well, it's official, Cyberpunk 2077 is coming to Stadia on the same day it will release on every other platform, November 19th. Up until today CD Projekt's official stance was that the game would arrive on Stadia before the year was out even through the studio offered a release date for every other platform, calling into question whether or not the game would arrive on Stadia on the same launch day as PC and consoles.

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Cyberpunk 2077 is delayed again, now coming December 10 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Microsoft Outlook's latest update lets you send ignored conversations straight to the trash

Oh, sorry, I must have missed that email

Microsoft's Outlook email client has picked up a lot of features recently, from third-party calendar syncing to expanded voice command support. The app's newest addition is one that promises to help users focus on what's important by ignoring conversations that clutter up the inbox.

The Ignore Conversation feature has been around for a while for the desktop app, and now the company's latest update has brought it to Android. When used on an email thread, it sends all current replies to the deleted folder.

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Microsoft Outlook's latest update lets you send ignored conversations straight to the trash was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Android 10 pushes Android Auto to over a billion Play Store installs

That's 900 million new downloads in just ten months

Android Auto's download count over on the Play Store is positively exploding. In a mere four months, the app has gone from 500 million installs to over a billion. Only six months before that, it was at 100 million. That's an incredible order of magnitude of growth in less than a year.

In case you live under a rock, Android Auto is Google's phone-powered infotainment system, working either with your car's built-in hardware or standalone on your phone itself to give you a big-screen interface for navigation, media, and hands-free voice commands.

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Android 10 pushes Android Auto to over a billion Play Store installs was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Crash Bandicoot: On the Run is a new auto-runner from King, coming spring 2021

Finally, a brand that properly fits within the auto-runner genre

It would appear that two Crash Bandicoot fans (Jump Button and Motwera) have uncovered an upcoming mobile Crash Bandicoot game through a Facebook search. Currently, there is a survey available for the supposed Crash Bandicoot Mobile title on StoreMaven (a mobile growth website) that mentions the game isn't available yet while simultaneously asking for input to improve the game's development.

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Crash Bandicoot: On the Run is a new auto-runner from King, coming spring 2021 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

What to expect in Series 2 of the Apps, Games & Insights podcast

Can apps become the key to education?


Interest in e-learning has been growing over the last few years but, with the emergence of distance learning, it’s poised to change all types of education. In the first episode, we talk with Elliott Rayner, Head Of Product Marketing, and John Quintana, Head of Guided Learning Experiences, from online language learning developer Babbel. Elliott and John discuss how Babbel is transforming and "thinking big" about the future of education: Can apps take the place of traditional classroom education? How can we make new models of language learning effective across various needs and learning styles? 


How do you get 250 million players to take action on climate change?


The recent Green Games Jam brought together 11 games studios to find  engaging ways to educate and empower 250 million players  to take action on climate change. Jennifer Estaris, Game Director at SYBO Games and Deborah Mensah-Bonsu, Founder of Games for Good and formerly from Space Ape Games, explain what the game jam is really about and how others can raise awareness to fight climate change through their businesses. They also share new approaches to climate change education led to planting trees, saving wolves and more. 


How do you create a successful 4x strategy game?


If you ever played one of those games where you build an empire, you’ve been playing a 4x strategy game. We hear from David Eckleberry, General Manager for Star Trek Fleet Command and Vice President at Scopely, about how they successfully built a loyal player base. Alongside Howard Chen, Google Play Growth Consultant, they shed light on how to create games that find and keep players, and discuss player affinity and KPI growth.


How do you reflect humanity’s diversity in an app?


Drops CEO and Co-Founder Daniel Farkas and Chief Customer Officer Drew Banks join us to explain how they work with native speakers and language experts to bring awareness and encourage people to learn a less spoken language. Daniel and Drew also discuss their initiatives to make the app more inclusive and accessible to all, such as by reviewing the depiction of women in graphics used to support word learning.


How do businesses build quality into an app?


Imagine the scenario: after downloading a great app or game, you  find that it’s not quite the great experience you were hoping for, or worse, it keeps misbehaving and crashing. For developers and  businesses, delivering a quality app is essential for both acquiring and retaining users. To explore how developers can ensure that users are getting the quality experiences they deserve, we’re joined by Maria Neumayer, Staff Software Engineer, at food delivery service Deliveroo, who talks about how Deliveroo has adapted during COVID-19, and Shobhit Chugh, Product Manager, Firebase, who discusses how businesses can rectify quality problems in testing and production.  


Why are your favorite games getting smaller these days?


Well ok, not necessarily smaller per se, but games are being taken to the small screen.. You’ve probably  noticed that many of your favorite PC and console games are now appearing on your mobile phone and tablet. Game developers want to give you the opportunity to stay engaged with your favorite game throughout the day, whether you’re on the move, or away from your computer or games console. However, going mobile can be challenging, so we speak to Jen Donahoe, Marketing and Growth Lead - Teamfight Tactics at Riot Games who enlightens us on how they develop mobile games and keep their players happy.


How do apps help people overcome failures to achieve life goals?


It can be a struggle to change habits, such as diet and exercise, with the goal of living a healthier life. Keeping people motivated through the ups and downs of lifestyle changes is a core challenge for health and fitness app developer Lifesum. Marcus Gners, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder at Lifesum, together with best-selling author of “Hooked” and “Indistractable,” Nir Eyal, explore the ways apps can help make sure people don’t fall off the wagon, and remain motivated to achieve their goals.


We don’t want to give the whole game away, so we are keeping the details of our final episode under wraps. Keep an eye out for more details shortly.


How to stay tuned in


Listen to the first episode of series 2 here. Subscribe to the podcast and listen to the latest episodes on your favorite podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple, Libsyn, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts and Overcast.


Also, keep an eye out on @GooglePlayDev and @AndroidDev on Twitter where we will be announcing the launch of each new episode of the Apps, Games, & Insights podcast.



Android Match

YouTube introduces smart suggestions for dumb people who can't hold their phone good

Plus streamlined player controls with more accessible captions

YouTube is one of the most widely used apps in the world, so whenever the company makes even a slight change, people notice. The announcement that four playlist-centric features were being killed last month was a bit disheartening, but YouTube's latest move doesn't kill off old features — instead it brings a variety of useful new ones to life, including streamlined player controls and a more accessible captions button.

In a blog post today, YouTube detailed recent updates that make video watching easier than ever, along with a few truly new tidbits to boot.

Read More

YouTube introduces smart suggestions for dumb people who can't hold their phone good was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Support for Mobile Passport lands at Honolulu and Oakland International Airports

The app now works at 29 airports nationwide

Traveling isn't at the forefront of most people's minds right now, but when it is necessary, the Mobile Passport app makes it a whole lot easier for passport holders. The digital passport service was already available in 27 airports across the US, and the latest version of the app includes support for another two: Honolulu and Oakland.

Re-entering the US after traveling abroad is now as easy as pressing  a few buttons in the app for travelers flying into Honolulu's Daniel K.

Read More

Support for Mobile Passport lands at Honolulu and Oakland International Airports was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Zoom finally gets end-to-end encryption, as well as YouTube livestreaming on mobile

Having access to the flash while using the rear camera is cool too

Zoom has seen incredible growth this year and has become one of the most popular video conferencing platforms around. This success has been aided by regular updates that bring useful new features. The latest Zoom update addresses a major security concern, finally adding support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE).

So far, Zoom meetings have been encrypted, but the encryption keys are stored on Zoom's servers. Thankfully Zoom has been working on adding end-to-end support, and it's available now, although several features won't work when it's active.

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Zoom finally gets end-to-end encryption, as well as YouTube livestreaming on mobile was written by the awesome team at Android Police.


Android Match

Further tales from the leading edge and beyond: more Apps, Games, & Insights podcast episodes

Posted by Lily Sheringham, Global Marketing, Platforms & Ecosystems

Google Play image

We are launching the second series of the Apps, Games, & Insights podcast.

Over the summer, we teamed up with a new group of leading industry insiders and experts to bring you 8 new podcast episodes over the next couple of months. We are bringing you their exceptional business stories, experiences and discussion on some of the latest big questions in the apps and games industry.

We are joined again by your hosts—Tamzin Taylor, who heads up Apps & Games Business Development for Google Play in Western Europe, and Dirk Primbs, who leads the Ecosystem Developer Relations team in Europe— and you can find out who they have been cajoling and corralling in the new series, below.

In the first series, the guests covered topics ranging from responsible growth and building for the long term, through advice from mergers and acquisitions and venture capital experts, to hot topics such as privacy and accessibility.

Apps, Games, & Insights podcast series 2 brings you a similarly diverse range of insights, stories, and learnings, and without further ado, get a sneak peek as to what we have lined up...

We kickoff with Elliott Rayner, Head Of Product Marketing, and John Quintana, Head of Guided Learning Experiences, from Babbel the online language learning company. Here in episode 9 we talk about how the new normal is disrupting the delivery of all types of education. Elliott and John discuss how Babbel is transforming and adapting and has been "thinking big" about the future of education: ultimately can apps take the place of traditional classroom education?

Most of us are very aware how critical environmental change is, but how do we raise awareness to fight climate change through our businesses? In episode 10 we are joined by Jennifer Estaris, Games Director at SYBO Games and Deborah Mensah-Bonsu, Founder of Games for Good and formerly at Space Ape Games, to learn how others are changing the game. In the recent Green Game Jam, 11 game studios came together to find innovative and engaging ways to educate and empower players about climate change through games. Jennifer and Deborah discuss how they ensured that the ideas were more than just another collection of tips for better recycling, and then pulled together a jam to bring great minds together and actualise change.

We also explore how to be successful with 4x strategy games—turn-based and real-time strategy games where you build an empire—in episode 11. We’re joined by David Eckleberry, General Manager and Vice President at Scopely, and Howard Chen, Google Play Growth Consultant. We hear how Star Trek Fleet Command has successfully built it’s loyal player base and the stories that bring to life the learnings about player affinity, KPI growth, comparative analysis with other game genres, and more.

With literally thousands of languages to choose from, language learning apps are in a unique position to reflect humanity’s diversity. The team at Drops have taken this opportunity by incorporating several indigenous languages into their app portfolio. So, while supporting the usual suspects of popular languages, users of Drops can also learn Hawaiian, Maori (from New Zealand), and Innu (from Japan) among others. In episode 12, we talk with Drops CEO and Co-Founder, Daniel Farkas and Chief Customer Officer, Drew Banks about how they actively foster diversity and inclusion in their product and company.

Have you ever wondered what goes behind the scenes to help you order your favourite foods from delivery apps? Delivering a quality app is essential to the success of your business, in both acquiring and retaining users. In episode 13, we’re joined by Maria Neumayer, Staff Software Engineer, at food delivery service Deliveroo and Shobhit Chugh, Product Manager, Firebase to talk about the practical steps you can take to design quality into an app or game. Discover and rectify quality problems in testing and production and hear Maria’s insights into how Deliveroo has adapted to the new normal.

Mobile gaming offers developers of PC and console games a significant opportunity. By going mobile, game developers can expand their player base and drive retention by providing a platform for players to stay engaged while they’re on the move. Jen Donahoe, Marketing and Growth lead for TeamFight Tactics at Riot Games joins us in episode 14 to discuss the challenges and opportunities they had in taking their games mobile.

What makes retention so critical to the success of a business over other measures, and how do you optimize this strategy? We speak to Marcus Gners, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder at health and fitness app developer Lifesum to hear how about the models they use and how they approach habitual usage. In episode 15, alongside Marcus, we are joined by best-selling author of “Hooked” and “Indistractable,” Nir Eyal, to explore the behavior apps should foster to drive retention, and how to measure this effectively.

So as to not give the whole game away, we are keeping the details of our final episode under wraps, so keep an eye out for more details shortly.

The new episodes of the Apps, Games, & Insights podcast are sure to spark the interest of business and app or gaming enthusiasts, and developers, who want to get the inside scoop from industry experts on business strategies and their success stories, and how to create successful apps and games businesses in these rapidly changing times. We look forward to you joining us on this journey.

How to stay tuned in

To find out more about what’s coming, check out our Apps, Games, & Insights podcast homepage and find links to all the latest episodes.

Subscribe and listen to our first episode here, or on your favorite podcast platform including Google Podcasts, Spotify, Apple, Libsyn, Pocket Casts and Overcast, Deezer, and iHeartRadio.

Keep an eye out on @GooglePlayDev and @AndroidDev on Twitter where we will be announcing the launch of the new episodes each week.

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