Welcome to Issue 429 of Android Apps Weekly. Here are the top stories from last week:
- T-Mobile is currently dealing with unstoppable phishing attacks. First reported by NJCCIC. Basically, the scam involves sending text messages to users thanking them for paying their bills and offering free gifts. It’s hard to block because they use group messaging and it’s harder than normal to block. Anyway, if you’re a T-Mobile subscriber, check the link to make sure you don’t get hit.
- CNN Plus will close on April 30, 2022. The reason is obvious. It’s not popular and nobody wants it. Reportedly, the service has fewer than 10,000 total subscribers, and things are already bad. Some content may make its way to HBO Max, but otherwise, let’s pretend that never happened, because that’s what Warner Bros. Discovery is going to do.
- The third-party tool that installed the Google Play Store on Windows 11 machines apparently also installed malware. The app is Windows Toolbox, and on top of the Play Store, it also installs some sketchy scripts as well as malicious Chrome extensions. The extension redirects users to affiliate and referral links, while also stealing personal data. Click the link to learn more.
- Netflix announced something this week. The first is that they lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022. This is not good news. The company then announced an ad-supported plan that was cheaper than the stock plan. Finally, they also announced that account sharing is mandatory for all accounts. We asked our readers and they were unhappy with most of it.
- Google is phasing out call recorder apps. The company limited the functionality of earlier versions of Android. This time it won’t kill it outright. From May 11, the company will ban all call recorder apps from the Play Store. It does this by restricting the use of the Accessibility API. However, the vulnerability lies in the fact that the stock dialer application does not need an API to make a record call. Therefore, call recording is determined by the OEM, not the application developer. We’ll see how this develops over time.
Berserker Online
price: Play for free
Berserker Online is an idle game with RPG elements. It plays as you expect. You sit next to your heroes as they defeat enemies and level up. The game also features dungeons, bosses, and PvP arenas. It uses classic combo mechanics to make weapons more powerful. The developers over-promised some of their mechanics, but it’s as good as the time you get in the genre. Unfortunately, the game had some launch day bugs that caused people to have some issues loading the game. We think they’ve fixed it, but if not, please wait a few more days.
Zola Dial
price: $0.99 each
Zola Watchfaces is a developer on Google Play who recently launched several new Wear OS watch faces. The themes differ slightly between them, but most share similar characteristics. They include battery status, always-on display, 24 or 48 hour mode, and more. They’re not the most game-changing watch faces you’ll ever see. However, they’re an inexpensive way to add a little style to your smartwatch if you want.
time defender
price: Play for free
Time Defenders is a mobile gacha RPG. It has a roster of over 70 heroes, and there will almost certainly be more. What makes this game pretty good is the execution. The characters are fully complemented with decent animations. The story is not bad, and the whole package plays nicely. It has a lot of common gacha traps, such as tedious grinding to upgrade units. However, you can grind upgrade materials without multiple pulls. Like all gachas, it gets more boring and tedious over time, but honestly, it’s not terrible.
Proton Calendar
price: free
Proton Calendar is the latest application in the Proton software suite. Although you do need to be an existing Proton user to use Calendar, this beta version is available for use. The calendar itself is not bad. It includes widgets, recurring events, a daily planner feature, and dark and light modes. This one is differentiated by end-to-end encryption on servers located in Switzerland. It’s as secure as the 2022 calendar. Again, you have to be an existing Proton user to get into the beta, but hopefully this will go away when the app is officially launched.
Dungeon of the Gods
price: Play for free
Dungeon of Gods is an action RPG with very simple mechanics. It’s somewhat reminiscent of Nonstop Knight, so if you’ve played it, you’ll have an idea of what you’re aiming for. You go in, walk around and kill a bunch of bad guys. From there, you earn loot, stay ahead of the difficulty curve, and keep going. This is the basic game loop, although there are a few other things you can do. It’s a good little time killer, and microtransactions are sure to be worse. The only problem is some early bugs that can cause occasional crashes or connection issues.
Let us know in the comments if we’ve missed any great Android app or game releases or news.
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